Lost Connections
by AsphodelRose87
Summary: Harry is unaware that he is a father. Will he cross paths with the muggle mother of his daughter, or will fate mean they pass like ships in the night? HP/ OC muggle girl – AU. Drama/Romance/ Mystery/Suspense
1. Disillusions and deceptions

**A/N: I decided to start the story from the middle. Yes, I know it's a bit of an odd decision, but I promise that I will bring up some flashback chapters soon and you will see how everything actually started.**

**Thank you very much for deciding to give my fanfic a go =)**

* * *

2nd August 1998

Not long after the burial of those who had died on the battle, Shacklebolt asked Harry if he wanted to give a hand to the Auror Squad. Harry accepted without thinking twice, as the work would keep him busy enough to free him from digesting all the things that had happened in the past year. And God knows how much work there was in the Auror Department after the tragedy of the Second Wizarding War.

They had to free innocent muggle-borns that had been sent to Azkaban; rescue missing people; return kidnapped young muggle-born children to the safety of their families or, if the families couldn't be found, give them to wizarding social service care; destroy dangerous dark-arts artefacts; find and arrest the remaining Death Eaters; help out the muggles that somehow had been affected by the war…

It was one of those last cases that Harry was holding by his desk, analysing the folder for what probably was the fiftieth time. This was such a special case for him that he had asked permission from his supervisor to let him deal with it alone.

The mission itself was very easy and straightforward, and he probably finish it in less than ten minutes. It consisted of paying a visit to two muggles that had lost close relatives during the war, making sure that they were all right, that a reasonable non-magical explanation for the deaths had been placed, and that no dangerous magical artefact, spell, jinx or curse could be find on their home. The only thing that made that mission complicated was that Annabel Morelli was one of those muggles.

Their last encounter had been _intense_. After a whole year apart due a big misunderstanding, they had finally made up. He told her the truth about the magical world, the war, Voldemort, and his need to kill him. That time, Harry made it clear that even though he really liked her, a relationship was the last thing that he could afford at that moment. The night before he left to the Burrow, they slept together, and she promised to wait for him.

However, somehow it got to Voldemort's knowledge that Harry had an affair with a muggle girl in the past, and because of that, most of her family died at the hands of his followers. Luckily, she wasn't in the country when this happened, but unfortunately, they confused her with her cousin Jess who had ended up being kidnapped and kept as a prisoner in the Malfoy Manor with Luna, Mr. Ollivander, and Griphook.

"Harry, I can't believe you still haven't done this." Neville said from after reading the files from Harry's shoulder.

"Mate, it's more complicated than it seems. Believe me."

"Yes, Luna told me about her. Is this the muggle girl you had a crush in the past, right? The one that was abroad when they got her cousin? "

"Yes, that's the one. And I kind wish it was only a crush. Maybe it would be easier to deal with it."

"Harry, if you want I can do it for you. I can go there to check if she is all right, and then you can sort the things between you two."

"No, I need to do it myself. I want to do it. I want to see her more than anything."

"So why don't you do it?"

"I just… almost everybody in her family died because a bunch of Death Eaters realized that we exchanged a couple of letters ages ago. Look, I knew all of her family; I went to her mother's wedding, and her grandmother was just the kindest… You wouldn't understand, Neville. You just wouldn't!" Harry sighed, defeated.

"Well, try me."

"I feel like I should have predicted that something like that could have happened to them. They were all muggles, after all, defenceless to _his_ power. I should have asked for someone in the Order to put them into hiding like they did with the Dursleys."

"Harry, you can't keep blaming yourself for every single death that was caused by those psychopaths."

"But I know that I could have avoided those. I know I could have. And they are the family of the girl I… I'm just glad that Voldemort didn't realise how important she was to me, or he might have put more effort in getting her. How am I supposed to look her in her eyes after this? After knowing that I had the power to prevent her mother's death, and I just didn't do anything? You know that nobody would deny this to me. Anyone from the Order would have done this favour for me."

"Harry, you can't know what would have happened. Maybe if you had put her family into hiding, You-Know-Who would have guessed how important she is to you, and then he would have put much more effort in getting her. She is alive. You are alive. Both of you have lost family in the war, but both of you still alive. You need to go and help her to understand what happened. Besides, are you a Gryffindor or what?"

Harry gave his friend a grin.

"Ok Neville, you win. I will take tomorrow off and see if I can sort out the things between us. Actually, I think I might take a whole week off. Maybe take her on a holiday somewhere. Just wish me luck. She was always such a complicated girl when we were younger..."

* * *

After spending a sleepless night thinking if he should send her an owl or not before meeting her, Harry decided that he couldn't just put the words he wanted to say on a piece of paper. In fact, he wasn't even sure of what he should say, but he wasn't going to come back from his decision now. He was going to pay her a visit today.

Before meeting her, Harry decided to book two Eurostar tickets to Paris with a hotel included through a muggle tourism agency. He always had wanted to go to Europe, and maybe some time together was everything they needed. He also bought some flowers in a little shop next to the tourism agency.

Before he started the apparated, Harry decided to wear his old invisibility cloak, as he didn't know for sure where he was going to land. He closed his eyes and thought about Annabel; he could almost feel the softness of her skin and the feel her long light brown hair. He could see her honey colour eyes,_ gypsy's eyes_, oblique and _sly,_ her ice-melting smile.

After he flicked his wand, Harry was very surprised to find himself in the Little Whinging small park. He thought that she would be somewhere in London, where her mother's family house was located. But she was in the park, a few meters from where he had apparated. Accompanied by the least likely person he would have thought she would ever be seen with—her step brother, a massive jerk who had been the man responsible for the big row that Harry and Annabel had had before he left Privat Drive with Dumbledore two years ago.

* * *

**Few minutes before scene above… **

Three months had passed since Annabel had heard the news from her cousin about the end of the Wizarding War. Soon after, she had moved back to the UK, and she was slowly trying to re-build the life that was harshly stolen from her dear family by Harry's enemies. _Harry_. Why on earth hadn't he contacted her yet? What was he waiting for? Had he forgotten about the promise he had made to her? Or maybe she simply wasn't as important to him as she had thought.

Whatever the reason was, the lack of news from her wizard lover was making her heart sink. Jess and Dudley had both told her that this incessant war was over; her cousin Jess had even spoken to Harry before and after the final battle, and she'd confirmed one thing: Harry Potter was alive and well!

Originally, she had tried to convince herself that the lack of communication must have been because there was still danger that he needed to fight. These suspicions were the main reason she hadn't told anyone who Holly's true father was.

Only she and her step-brother Geoffrey, the one that against all odds had unexpectedly shown himself to be such a good father to Holly, knew. Together they were pretending to be a couple, and not even Jess or Matt knew that their flourishing relationship wasn't genuine. She wouldn't risk telling even her best friends until Harry emerged from the shadows and told them that they were safe, and everything would be all right. In her dreams, Harry would return and tell her that they would be together and that he would stay with her and Holly forever. But Harry hadn't come back.

Thinking everything over, Annabel closed her big doll eyes in a deep rage towards Harry. How could he ignore all the death that had been inflicted on her family because of this stupid war? Her grandma, mother, uncle and step-father were all dead because of this stupid '_Valtervort'_, or whatever his name was. Couldn't he at least come to see if she was okay? Couldn't he spend five minutes of his precious time to finally meet their daughter?

As the rage towards Harry finally passed, she started to rationalise again. After all, Harry couldn't possibly know that they both had a daughter together, could he? Maybe he hadn't come back because he was feeling guilty because of her family's deaths. He had certainly acted that way before: blaming himself when his godfather died. It was quite plausible – such a typical Harry thing to do.

Annabel sighed as she adjusted her long light-brown hair behind her ears. She felt very depressed as the thought entered her mind that maybe Harry was just not coming back again. Maybe he would never get to know Holly, and Holly would never get to know her true father. That was it. She decided that he was not coming back. Annabel rubbed her eyes to get rid of an insistent tear. She would not cry again. At least not today. Geoffrey had put immense effort into organizing a picnic for the two of them; they were in Little Whinging, and Matt and Dudley had made an offer of free babysitting which was too kind to refuse.

Annabel looked towards the swing on which she and Harry used to play during summer holidays and drew in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I should have brought you to somewhere else. You and _he_ probably used to play here when you were young. I should have known," Geoffrey said regretfully.

"It's fine." Annabel answered, with what she thought to be a reassuring smile.

"I… I just thought that a picnic in the park was much more your kind of thing… but we can go somewhere else if you want."

"You were right. This is much more my kind of thing. Besides, I'm sure you'd agree it would be such a waste of good weather to spend a day like this indoors. _And_ we both know that I need to get used to the fact that _he_ is no longer part of my life. I need to move on."

Geoffrey reached for her hand.

"That's the smartest thing you've said in past few months, you know?"

"Oh Geoff, come on. I know that I have been such a wimpy girl, crying all the time. But you don't need to mock me about it."

"I'm not. It's the truth."

"Okay, I'll pretend that I believe you while you carry on pretending that I'm almost normal." Reaching for the basket, she asked, "So what have you put in this one, Mr Harrison?"

"Well, I brought some red berries, two baguettes and the best wine I could find from my father's cellar."

Annabel's eyes lit up. "Wow, brie cheese, Parma ham, grilled asparagus and… wait, is this cream made with figs?" she said while examining his work with a professional eye before taking a first bite. She tried to hide her unexpected disgust.

"What's wrong? Is it bad?"

"No! It's interesting. It's just a small overuse of some simple ingredients that shouldn't have been used in the first place. You know, things like salt, sugar and oil should be used with parsimony."

A loud pop captured Annabel's attention. She turned her head to try and find its source, but Geoffrey – who apparently hadn't noticed the noise, or thought it wasn't worth his concern – continued talking.

"Oh no, let me try it!" and he quickly grabbed the other baguette and gave it a big bite. "It's terrible! Disgusting. You are such a bad liar!"

"Okay, I admit that I'm a little shocked that you managed to use all these high quality ingredients to such bad effect…"

"Oh _sweetheart_, you don't need to be this harsh. You'll end up breaking my heart this way!"

"Sorry, _sweetheart_. But as you said, even the amazingly bad liar that I am, it's safer for me to put my hands up and tell the truth – at least while we are by ourselves. And please, next time you plan anything food related, let me take care of it, okay?"

"Fair enough. And at least we still have the wine and the fruit. I dare say that not even I would be able to screw those up."

"Geoffrey, _honey-pumpkin_, after these sandwiches I will never underestimate your aptitude for culinary disaster ever again. And about the wine; pass me the bottle; let me see what you grabbed."

He gave her the bottle – grinning as he imagined her reaction. Annabel looked at the label and her jaw dropped.

"Geoffrey! This bottle is from 1710! It's been stored for centuries!"

"Well done Bel; you know how to count!"

"Geoffrey, seriously? This wine must worth a small fortune. You can't just open a bottle like this for no reason!"

"Who said I'm opening it without a reason? Give it back to me" – he grabbed the bottle from her hands and opened it straightaway, ignoring all her protests and poured its contents in a small decanter.

"Now, we let it breathe."

"I can't believe what you have just done! Can you now explain to me why did you decide to just open a bottle of wine that is surely worth thousands of pounds?"

Before saying anything, he held both her hands and got closer to her. He was so near that she could nearly hear his fast heartbeats.

"I opened that wine to celebrate the most important person in my life: you, Bel. The girl that I was never able to accept as a sister, the girl who could never understand that this immature boy who did the things he did because he loved you deeply in secret, who only did the things he did because he didn't know how to deal with this feeling. I love you Annabel Morelli. I really do."

"Geoff, I've ne…" she started, but he held her words, gently placing his hands on her lips.

"I opened this wine to celebrate you, Bel. When our parents first introduced us, I wasn't very nice to you. It took me ages to understand why I couldn't accept you as my sister. Just… ever time I see you dancing it's like the world stops turning round. Now I know that I've loved you since the first time I put my eyes on you. And you, besides everything that I've done to you, have always been nice to me, even when I was a complete jerk to you. You, Annabel, who gave me the best present of my life: the most beautiful baby girl in the world who I have the honour to call my daughter."

Geoffrey held her around her neck and gave her a soft kiss. She slowly started kissing him back. He began shaking while tears ran down her face.

After a moment that felt like ages, they broke apart, and Geoffrey got a small box from inside his jacket. An engagement ring box.

"Oh, no, Geoff, please tell me you're not doing this!"

"Yes, I'm doing it," he said while he was going down on one knee. "Well, we already have a daughter together; we already live together. I think it has passed the time for us to formalize the things between us."

A suddenly **'POP'** noise in the grass near them took their attention. Bel felt a cold hush through her spine as she thought she would see someone or something near them. But no one was there, not even a rabbit or a squirrel.

"Bel, I think you already know the question I want to ask you, but I insist on asking you anyway. Annabel Dorothy Morelli, do you want to be my wife? Will you marry me?"

"Geoffrey, you are my step brother for goodness sake! Can't you see that a relationship like that is just wrong?" She said shocked.

"How many times do I need to repeat this to you? YOU-ARE-NOT-MY-SISTER! Just because my father happened to hook up with your mother for few years doesn't make it…"

"Geoffrey, watch out your mouth! I won't accept you talking about them like that." She said, really angry by his nasty words.

"All right! But you can't deny that you didn't like my father, and you can't say that you loved your mother deeply because you didn't. Like I said, you've always been a very bad liar," Geoff said trying to make a point but only managed to get Annabel even more annoyed.

"You can't deny that our parents _were _married, which _technically_ made us somehow related," she said, crossing her arms in annoyance at his rudeness.

"But you also can't deny that _technically_ we also don't share any blood relation. Therefore, you are not my sister," he said, imitating her annoyance.

"Enough, Geoff! I forgot how annoying you can be sometimes. You have been such a nice guy! I mean it! You have been my best friend this last year, helping me during all my pregnancy… and then, you accept to be Holly's father to protect us. You're always helping me take care of her and now… I can't say I was expecting that. I'm in a complete shock! Two years ago you were a complete bastard, the most egocentric guy on earth. And now… after all those years living under the same roof… I would _never _have imagined you had feelings towards me. I must say that I'm baffled."

"You don't need to answer me now, Bel. Just keep the box, right? Wear it whenever you're ready, or give it back to me if you decide to wait for that freak until you start your menopause…"

Annabel gave him a dark glare after his last phrase, willing to say that he was wrong, that Harry would be back sometime soon, but now she was starting to doubt that too.

"I… you know… I still love _him_, right?"

"I know. But I'm confident enough that I can help you to get over it. If you just give me a true chance to show you that I'm the right guy for you."

"I don't love you, Geoff. I like you as a friend; you know that, don't you?"

"I know that too. But we can try to build this feeling together. One year ago, you couldn't stand to stay near me for more than five minutes. Look at us now: a perfect team. Besides…I love you enough for both of us. Don't ever doubt that! Now, let's see if I at least bought the right fruits…"

* * *

**Few seconds before scene above… **

This wasn't happening, Harry thought in complete despair. It had to be a nightmare! How on earth could Annabel and Geoffrey be together? How on earth could they have a daughter? She hated him; he hated her! This whole thing didn't make any sense.

From under his invisibility cloak, Harry spotted Geoffrey's hand reach into his pocket and pull out the engagement ring box. Harry felt like he was going to vomit. He decided that he wasn't going to stay there any longer. It was too much to ask. He couldn't bear the thought of seeing this newly engaged couple happily celebrating their love together. Not when he was also in love to the bride-to-be.

Without waiting any longer, he disparated near the Black Manor. After throwing the flowers in the first public rubbish bin he could find, Harry entered the old house, glad that everyone thought he was going on a holiday because he didn't feel like seeing anybody anytime soon.

**A/N: A massive thanks to ****Litfreak89. Without her help I would never publish this :)**


	2. The magic begin

**October 1989**

"Careful boy! Turn down the oven, or you're going to burn the bacon! Let me do it myself! Are you never going to learn?"

"Sorry, Aunt Petunia."

"You can you at least make the table properly, can't you? Vernon and Dudley will be coming down at any moment, and you don't need to think that just because it's half term you will be lying down doing nothing the all day. There is a list of chores that I want done before we head off to Mrs. Morelli's; do you understand?"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia."

Harry sighed. At least he had that night's event to look forward to. That evening was going to be Mrs. Morelli's granddaughter's birthday party, and for the first time, Harry had been invited to a child's party in the neighbourhood. Harry was certain that Aunt Petunia was only letting him go because the old woman had been very clear on her invitation that she wanted both boys to go. If all the kids from the street hadn't been invited and weren't talking about the party for the last two weeks, maybe Dudley wouldn't have wanted to go to the birthday party, and they would have been able to avoid their young nephew having fun.

Harry knew very little about the birthday girl, Annabel. She didn't live in Little Whinging; it was common knowledge that she lived in London and that occasionally she would come to Surrey to spend some days with her nan. Harry vaguely remembered seeing the girl at a summer fair two years earlier helping her grandmother sell cakes. Harry was there helping aunt Petunia to sell her strawberry jams and scones and had gone to the girl's stand to ask for some change.

Because it was near Halloween, all the kids were going to wearing fancy costumes. Aunt Petunia had bought Dudley a nice pirate costume with a captain's hat, eye patch, and everything! Harry, on the other hand, was sent without dinner to the cupboard under the stairs after being caught cutting two small circles on his bed sheet trying to make a ghost costume.

"You ungrateful brat! Destroying the things we give to you! You should learn to show more gratitude!"

Those were uncle Vernon words before announcing Harry's punishment. Dudley had taken it as another opportunity to throw another provocation towards his cousin.

"Why don't you go dressed like a beanbag? Goes well with your personality, don't you think?"

Harry didn't answer, but it was hard to suffocate his laugh when the garden water pipe started to follow Dudley around, making him look like a wet sea lion. Harry tried to be out of sight so the Dursleys wouldn't blame him this time because even though Harry had nothing to do with the crazy garden pipe, it was normal for him to be blamed to every time something unexpected happened in the house.

Luckily, no one remembered to blame him this time, and at half past six, Harry, Dudley and Aunt Petunia walked to Mrs. Morelli's house. A bounce castle had been put in the garden, as well as a trampoline and many other activities for the children. Lots of kids were there already, all wearing fancy costumes. Harry heart sank when he realised that he was going to be the only child who wasn't going to be wearing a costume. Dudley's friends would probably mock him about it the whole evening. Feeling a bit less happy already, Harry followed his aunt and Dudley, who was carrying a big beautifully wrapped present.

When they arrived, Aunt Petunia marched with them towards Mrs. Morelli's direction. She was talking to Mrs. Figg, who Harry knew to be the crazy cat lady who always looked after him when the Dursleys went out to have fun somewhere else. Both old ladies were talking to another younger woman who had a voluminous dark blond hair, which made her look like a lioness. Harry was completely clueless about the identity of this woman who was wearing very expensive-looking clothes.

"Petunia, dear! I'm so happy to see you here. Glad you came, and with both boys as I asked! Let me introduce you to Helen, Annabel's mother and my son's ex-wife."

"Nice to meet you, Petunia; my ex-mother-in-law was telling everything about your very nice garden. You have a natural green finger, they said." She said while pointing to Mrs. Morelli and Mrs. Figg.

"Thank you, Helen. This is a very nice party. Did you organize it yourself?" Petunia asked in a polite tone.

"No way! I've been so busy on my work that I have no idea how I manage to find time to be here tonight! Dorothy and Melissa, my daughter's au pair, have done all the hard work," Helen said, letting Petunia give her a severe stern look that Helen didn't notice because she was too busy analysing the difference between both boys that Petunia brought with her.

"So, are those two big boys yours?" Helen asked, breaking the ice.

Harry almost read the conflict in his aunt's head. The woman was divorced, one thing that Petunia abhorred almost as much as she hated Harry. But she's also seems to be very rich, the one thing that Petunia's liked to be surrounded by.

"Dudley is my only son. Harry's was my sister's. She died eight years ago in a car crash." Petunia replied like a robot.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I lost my parents when I was young too." She really seemed to be sorry "Well, at least you guys have each other, right? God knows how having a lovely carrying family is important. I will find Bel so your boys can give her the present".

And with that she left, leaving the three of them with Mrs. Morelli and Mrs. Figg. As soon as the three women started to talk, the present slipped down from Dudley's hand, and he went to the floor to run to meet his friends Piers and Dennis, who were already enjoying the party.

"Dudley, come back here now!" Petunia demanded in a rare occasion when she was telling off her precious Ickle Diddykins. "I don't know what happened to my boy. He is usually is so polite!"

"Don't worry Petunia; let the children be children. If they don't enjoy life now, they never will!" said Mrs Figg, leaving Petunia feeling much more relaxed with that situation.

At that point, Annabelle's mum came back, bringing her daughter with her. The curly-headed light-brown-haired girl was wearing a witch costume, the black cone hat almost hiding her honey-coloured eyes.

Petunia picked up the present her son had thrown onto the floor and gave it to the girl.

"Happy birthday, Annabelle. I see you are having a beautiful party."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Dursley."

"Bel, this is Harry; he lives at Number 4 with his aunt and uncle."

"Yes, of course I remember Harry. You were working at the summer fair two years ago! Did you enjoyed the cake I gave to you?"

"Yes, it was very nice. I made you a card." Harry said, pulling a folded paper from his pocket.

"Thanks." She unfolded the paper and saw a nice drawing of the cake she had given to him two years ago, along with a happy birthday message. She then looked at Harry. "You are not wearing a costume."

She said that smiling, but in a nice way; she wasn't mocking about it. Whatever her intention was, Harry felt that his cheeks were probably pink after the comment.

"Don't worry. I can sort this out," said Annabel while taking off her own witch's hat and putting it on Harry's head. She did the same with the dark cloak she was wearing, putting it around his shoulders. "Now you can say that you're a wizard, and I still look like a witch! Let's go; I want to introduce you to some of my friends."

Aunt Petunia looked like she was going to faint, but Harry couldn't care less. He took the hand offered by the girl and followed her into her grandmother's garden.

"Sorry, what's your name again?" the young girl asked.

"Harry. What game are your friends playing?"

"Blind man's bluff. Hey guys, this is Harry; he is joining the game!"

"You are going to be _it_, Harry!" said a blond ponytail girl that Harry recognized to be in the earlier years from his primary school. She gave him a blind that he took without further arguing.

"He just arrived! You should be a bit nicer, Jess," Bel told off the smaller girl.

"Why should she be nice to him? He is a freak!" Dudley had appeared from the middle of nowhere to bully his cousin.

"I beg your pardon?" Annabel had said, looking very annoyed with Dudley's reaction.

"Just look at his clothes, his messy hair, and his stupid scar! This boy is a freak and needs to be treated as such," Dudley said, repeating the same speech that was usually given by his parents. "And where did you get this hat from, freak?"

Harry was about to answer, but he was interrupted by the birthday girl.

"It is mine, I gave to him. Do you have any problem with that?" Annabel gave him a serious glare.

Dudley stopped a bit before answering, as if he were considering if it would be a good idea to beat her up or not. She was clearly not from the town, and he didn't know how things worked in that area. And the place was full of adults as well… starting a fight in a place like this could be dangerous for him.

"You should be careful, girl. Don't mix yourself with freaks like him because it is contagious. If you spend too much time with freaks, you will become one of them."

"I've never heard so much silliness in my life! Anyway, it's my party, and I want to play! Does anyone want to volunteer to be _it_?"

Harry felt an immense gratitude to the girl who, in one evening, had managed to stand up for him twice. He wasn't used to things such as kindness from people, and now a complete stranger was being kinder to him than anyone he had ever met before.

"I don't mind being _it_," Harry caught himself telling her. And he really didn't. He was used to be _it _anyway.

"Are you sure?" She waited until he gave her a positive nod. "You are _it _then!"

Harry did put the blind on, and the other children turned him around for a while, which made him feel momentarily dizzy. Then he started to hear the noises of children screaming every time he was near them. Some braver ones would go very near and even touch him just before sprinting away as far as possible. The third time someone did that, Harry was ready and grabbed the one of the kid's shoulders. It belonged to someone who was at least one head shorter than he.

"You need to guess who it is!" A boy's voice that Harry didn't recognize shouted behind him.

Harry moved his hands over the person's neck, and he felt the long curly hair, which made him infer that the stranger was clearly a girl. Her skin was the softest he had ever touched, and it smelt like oranges and cinnamon.

"Kids, it's time to the magic show! Come on everyone!" One of the adults shouted in the background.

Everybody started to run towards the person that had called their attention. Everyone except Harry and the mystery girl. Harry and stranger girl stayed both still. Harry moved his hands to her small lips, and then he thought that he knew who she was. With her hands, she freed him from his blind, finally revealing her identity to be Annabel, the birthday girl. She was also blushed. Harry was sure that he was most likely very red too. However, they kept looking into each other's eyes, his green into her light browns.

"Bel! Here you are! We are just waiting for you to start the magic show. You should join the other children, young man." Annabel's grandmother, Mrs Morelli, grabbed Annabel's hand while guiding her through the crowd. She looked back her shoulders and gave Harry a shy smile.

* * *

**25****th**** December 1989**

It was Christmas morning, and Harry hadn't had any contact with Annabel since her birthday party. She didn't live in Little Whinging, and even if she did, Harry doubted that they would be friends. Dudley ruled their school, and he always made sure that Harry had no one to play with. Every time a new brave soul arrived to try to talk to the skinny dark-haired boy, Dudley went to show them what happened to those who were friends with his freak cousin.

It had snowed last night, and Harry was given the chore of shovelling the snow from the Dursleys' garden before Marge and her 'baby' monsters arrived for Christmas dinner later on. He was almost finishing it when he was interrupted by a snow ball that hit him in the middle of his face. The cold snow burned his skin making him shiver.

"Ouch! Dudley, why don't you go to blow up some aliens on your stupid computer, and leave me alone?" Harry said towards the place that the snow ball had come from.

However, it wasn't Dudley's voice that was giggling from that spot. Harry cleaned his glasses and saw Annabel laughing at him while holding another snow ball with one hand and a sled in the other.

"You? What do you think you are doing?" Harry said angrily.

"Snowball war!" She answered before throwing another ball in his direction.

But Harry was well prepared this time and avoided the hit going down the floor while getting some more snow to throw on her direction. He missed her face, but he got her back. She tried to hit him again and missed by two inches. They carried on playing the game for a while. Harry was clearly the winner, partially for his previous experience avoiding Dudley's attacks, partially for his natural agility. It was not very long before she was begging for him to stop.

"Peace! Please, I'm sorry for hitting you Harry!"

It was Harry's turn to laugh.

"Annabel, that's what you get for messing with someone who is working."

"You can call me Bel. That's how my friends call me. And, you were almost finished anyway, right? You've being there for ages! I was watching you through my nan's window. Why doesn't your cousin help you?"

Harry felt his chicks turning pink.

"He is inside busy doing other stuff. Are you here for Christmas, then?" Harry asked her, trying to change the subject of their conversation.

"Yes, my dad is here! He came all the way from America, and he brought my baby sister for me to meet! She is such a cute baby with her dark hair and big blue eyes! You should come to my nan's to see her."

"Oh, I didn't realise that your mother was pregnant."

"Of course she wasn't! She is my half-sister from my dad's side. She lives with him in US."

"Oh, I see!" Harry never had thought about the possibility of half-siblings before. Now that she explained it, the concept made sense, and he felt a bit embarrassed for not realising it before.

"So, do you want to go sledding? My cousin Jess is meeting me at the park."

Harry looked behind to the Dursley's house. They certainly wouldn't allow him to go. But would they notice if he left just for a little bit?

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea…"

"Come on, you don't need to be a chicken! I can hold your hand!" She winked at him while giving him a cheeky grin.

"Hey, I'm not scared!"

"Prove it then! Last one to get there is a rotten egg!" After saying this, she started to run without waiting for his answer.

"Hey!" He was going to tell her to stop, that he wasn't allowed to go. But then she would be _sure_ that he was afraid of sledding. Instead, he decided to put the shove on the ground and follow her.

Years after that, Harry would end up forgetting that he wasn't allowed Christmas dinner that day and spent the rest of the day locked under the stairs because of his mysterious three hours disappearance. But he would never forget how much fun it had being going sledding with both girls, especially with Bel. That day he could say that he got his best Christmas present so far: a true friend.

* * *

After that cold, snowy Christmas day, Harry and Annabel started to exchange letters with the help of her grandmother. Annabel would post letters to her nan, who would hand them personally to Harry every time he went to her house to cut the grass. The boy would usually do the same in order for his mail to reach Annabel, but sometimes he would manage to sneak some stamps from the Dursleys and would post his letter directly on the mail box.

In the beginning, their letters were nothing more than children's drawings with short messages, but soon they became confessions between the two pre-teenagers.

Annabel would tell Harry everything about her ambition of became a professional ballerina and how she dedicated herself to doing ballet classes four days a week. She also told him how she hated the self-defence classes that her mother obligated her to take; how she expended too much time in after school clubs and au pairs and too little time with her mother, who worked day and night as a police inspector, even though they had quite a lot of money, and she didn't necessarily need to do so. She revealed to him her secret passion for cooking that she had gotten from her nan and how the thing she wanted the most in her life was to have a dog, but she wasn't allowed to have one because her mother said it was too much a hassle. She told him how she sometimes wished she could go to America to live with her father and her sister, or maybe to live in Little Whinging with her grandmother and be able to play with him ever single day!

Harry, however, would tell her how he wished his parents hadn't died in the car crash, or how he wished he had any other relatives alive that weren't the Dursleys. He told her that he had never seen a picture of his parents before, and he confessed that he often liked to imagine how they looked. He also confessed to her his desire of leaving that place one day… maybe he could go to America with her. He even told her some of the minor bullying incidents he would suffer from the Dursleys, and how he had to hide her letters because of the fear that his relatives would prohibit them keep in touch with each other. Later on, he also confessed to her that she was his only friend, as Dudley always made sure to blackmail others at their school.

The years passed, and even though they only saw each other during brief school half-terms and some weeks of their summer holidays, their friendship had grown strong. Harry would leave the house of his relatives without being noticed and would go to her grandmother's where they could play far away from Petunia's severe sternness. Sometimes he would manage to escape from Mrs. Figg's house after she fell sleep while watching TV. Overall, Dudley seemed to be the only one in the family to realize the growing connection between his cousin and Mrs. Morelli's granddaughter.

Sometimes Dudley would spot Harry and Annabel together and would throw some venomous comments towards his cousin:

"Why don't you show your _room_ to your _girlfriend_, freak! Does she know where you sleep?" Dudley said mentioning the cupboard down the stairs that Harry had instead of a bedroom.

"Bugger off, Ickle Diddykins." Harry would answer after losing his temper.

"What did you just call me?" Dudley said, grabbing Harry's t-shirt neck.

"He told to you bugger off!" Annabel shouted while tried to position herself between both boys. "You think you are amazing, don't you? Beating up a boy half your size! You should leave. You're not welcome here."

"Yo ho, the little rat can talk!" Dudley said after throwing his cousin on the ground to go after her. "Let's see if she can squeak too." Dudley said while grabbed her neck in a chocking position against a tree.

"Dudley, STOP!" Harry clamed in horror, while trying to position himself between them.

A branch from the tree fell straight onto Dudley's head, making him let the girl go straightaway.

"Run!" Harry said to Annabel while Dudley was still trying to recover from the unexpected strike he had suffered. Bel was still in shock after suffering from the unexpected attack from Harry's big cousin.

Harry and Annabel ran non-stop until they reached a small pond that was located in the furthest place they ever been in the Little Whinging park.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked her.

"I… I think so. I should really start paying attention in those self-defence lessons my mom make me take. But I still can't believe that your cousin attacked me…"

"Dudley can be... violent sometimes."

"Is he usually this bad?"

"He is usually worse." The girl looked shocked "Don't worry, I'm used to it. It's rare that he managed to get me anyway… you see, luckily I'm much faster than he is."

"Harry… this is bad. Why didn't you tell me that it was so bad? Why don't you tell his parents? I know that they are overprotective about your cousin, but this… this is serious! He could really end up hurting someone. Maybe if I ask my mum to talk to your aunt about that…"

"No please! Please, you can't do this. It's would just make the things worse for me. Please promise you won't tell this to anyone." Harry begged to her with such despair that she had never seen in those green eyes.

"Ok. I don't really understand why it would that make things worse, but if it's how you want it… I respect your decision." she said reluctantly.

Harry sighed in relief. They stayed in silence for a short moment, and then he said looking deeply in her eyes.

"If only I could leave this place… if only I had somewhere to go… then maybe I would be happy."

The girl held his hand and put it near to her heart.

"One day you are going to be very happy Harry. And you are going to have a real family too. You will have a lovely house, with your wife and kids. You might even have a dog!" she said with her usual cheeky grin.

Harry smiled with the sight of her description of his future; the idea she painted of it was much brighter than the one claimed by his relatives.

"I'm happy when I'm with you, Bel." He sighed. And he dragged her to the grass, and both of them lay down while analysing the different shapes the white clouds made on the blue sky.

"Look, that one near that very circular one… don't you think that it look like a turtle?" Harry said, trying to break the ice.

"No, that one definitely looks like a hippo. Can't you see its pointy nose?" she asked while touching her own nose.

"Yes, you have a point." Harry said while trying to find more funny shaped clouds to point out; suddenly he decided to share a thought that had just come into his head – "Imagine how cool it would be if we could touch the clouds in the sky? Imagine if we could fly without those airplanes… and touch the clouds."

She giggled at his comment, and Harry felt afraid that she had found his idea stupid.

"But of course we can fly!" Bel said holding his hands tighter "You only need to close your eyes and imagine it".

And so he did. He concentrated all his thoughts imagining him and Annabel flying around Little Whinging. He could even _feel_ the cold wind kissing his messy hair, his weightless body floating in the air fighting against all the gravity laws. But what really shocked him was what he felt when he opened his eyes and realised that he and she were both really floating two meters above the ground. She had her eyes closed, but she seemed to be enjoying the sensations the same way he was.

"You were right, Bel! We are flying!" Harry said excited.

The girl opened her eyes and left a shock and disbelief short scream escape from her mouth, and she loosened her hand from his hand, which made her start falling. Just before it was too late, Harry managed to hold her and slowly both of them landed on the ground.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked her a bit worried.

"I'm fine. We were flying! Did you see it? How did you do that?" She said in shock.

"Well, you are the one that told me it was possible…" Harry told her unsure of how they end up floating in the air five seconds ago.

"Yes, but I didn't think it really would work. Not really." She was still in shock with what had just happened.

"I don't know how it happened. But I enjoyed the feeling of being in the air."

"Me too" She said giving him a weak smile. "Maybe we should give it another go and try again?" She said with her usual cheeky smile.

"POTTER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME? LET ME GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

Harry heard his cousin voice shouting from far away. Harry grabbed Bel's arm before it was too late for them to speak with each other.

"Tomorrow is Dudley's birthday. The Dursleys are all going to the zoo; while they are out, I will stay with Mrs Figg. Meet me there; I will figure out a way to escape from the cat lady."

"I'll see you there. Now go!"

Harry sprinted as far away from the park as he could. For Harry's luck, however, Dudley miraculously decided to stop chasing him this time, which saved the young wizard from being transformed into Dudley's punching bag once again.

Unknown to him, the next morning he would end up going to the zoo with the Dursleys instead of meeting his friend. Also unknown to him would be that he would make the glass disappear to free the Brazilian snake, and he would be grounded for the next two weeks, leaving him no chance to speak with Annabel before her flight to the US. In fact, the next time they would see each other would be just after Harry would meet Hagrid and finally finds out everything about the Wizarding World.


	3. Broken heart

**10th August 1998**

Harry was blinded by the dazzling light that flooded his eyes with the opening of one of the windows in the master bedroom. Next to the window, he saw the silhouette of a small woman who was pointing a wand at the other windows in the bedroom. Harry sat down on the corner of the bed and, after putting on his glasses, finally recognized the woman as his best friend, Hermione Granger.

"Good morning, 'Mione," he said while trying to restrain a yawn.

"Good afternoon, Harry," she said while making the five empty bottles of disappear with a wand twist. "Why is this room so messy? Is Kreacher not taking care of you?"

"Hermione, I thought I would never live to see the day you would claim that a house elf hasn't done a proper job," Harry replied while sitting on the bed. He felt a strong headache due to his massive hangover. "But answering your question, I asked Kreacher to leave me alone. By the way, may I ask you the purpose of your visit?"

"I've been worried about you. All of our letters were coming back unread; you haven't been to work the last couple of days, and no one knows why; and I just confirmed with that muggle tourism agency that you never did check in at that hotel in Paris you booked with them. Are those enough reasons for you?" she checked off while sitting down next to him with a typical Hermione glare.

"I blocked the owl post because I wanted to be alone. I know I should probably have told them I had lengthened my time off, but I think that they can live few days without me." Harry said crossing his arms.

"Well, the aurors are organizing searches for you around the whole country. Have you seen the Daily Prophet? No, you haven't; I forgot, you blocked the owl post," she sighed while giving him a copy of the day's newspaper. The headline was "The Tragic End of Our Most Beloved Hero," and it showed a picture of Harry wearing his auror uniform.

"Well, as you can see, this is all bollocks. I'm alive."

"Yes, my reasoning skills told me it was a lie from the very beginning. It's a Rita Skeeter article after all! But still… have you thought about how I felt reading an article about your supposed death?" she said angrily.

"Ok, I promise you, I will never disappear like that again, but I still want to be alone. Now if you don't mind going…"

"Of course I do mind! You are my best friend. Whatever happened between you and Annabel, I'm sure you can fix it. But you won't change anything by treating me like this!"

"It's not the kind of thing that you can just sort it out. How do you know that I went after her?" Harry asked, intrigued.

"Neville. We went to her home together yesterday. We pretended to be from the state agency that she hired to rent and sell some of her properties. Apparently, they just realized that the company that belonged to her brother went bankrupt, and her mother had invested tons of money in it. We used the opportunity to scan her place for any sign of magic. Everything is cool and clean. We haven't altered her memory though," she said, trying to be sympathetic.

"Right. Thank you for helping on this; I really appreciate it. I wouldn't have had the stomach to do it myself after seeing what I saw last week," he said, looking a bit grumpy.

"Harry, what happened between you two?"

"Let's just say that now I know exactly how Snape must have felt when he realized that my parents were getting married."

"What do you mean?"

Harry thought for a moment before he answered her question. Did he really want to go through it all again?

"Hermione… you are my best friend. And I believe that you know me better than anyone else. Please, understand that I really don't want to talk about what happened between me and that girl ever again."

"Harry… ok, I understand" This was one of the few times that Harry had seen a wordless Hermione. They maintained the silence for a while, and Harry used this time to go near the bedroom window and appreciate its view.

Hermione was sitting on the bed, immersed in deep thoughts until she jumped out the bed and tapped Harry on his shoulder, looking like she was going to suggest for them to research something in Hogwart's library.

"Well… so at least let's find a good mind healer for you. I'm sure that if I send a letter to St. Mungos they could make you an appointment for tomorrow. Perhaps even for today. You are Harry Potter after all."

"Hermione, I don't think it's really necessary… I'm fine; I just need to be alone." Harry didn't see the point of him going to see a healer. He was in perfect health and didn't see how talking about things that he really wanted to forget could do him any good.

"Come on; I know you have buried yourself alive in this house for the past few days. I don't want to see my best friend falling into a depression. I've read lots of research about depression. You start isolating yourself from society, then you stop talking to people. And after everything you've gone through, it's just not right to see you like this! You will move on… a mind healer is just going to help you to speed up this whole process."

"Look, if I go back to work, will you stop with this crazy idea?" Harry said, trying to persuade her to change her mind.

Hermione gave him a big grin. "All right, maybe you don't need to see a mind healer."

"But in exchange, would you mind doing me a massive favor?" Harry asked, looking a bit defeated.

"Yes?"

Harry opened the draw on his bedside table and pulled out a folded dark blue cloth. He unfolded it and reviled a small silver bracelet with green stones.

"Can you please make sure this reaches her? She left it with me before…" Harry didn't complete the phrase. Thinking about their last night together was too painful.

"Sure. Shall I also give her the letter you left with me in case you died…" Hermione asked, unsure of his intentions.

"No. Just make sure this reaches her. You don't even need to talk to her. Actually, it's better if you don't." Harry said, looking very tired.

And after taking the cloth and placing it safely in her handbag, she left the room and tried to find Kreacher to ask him to help her deliver Annabel's bracelet.

* * *

Annabel had just managed to get Holly to sleep after breastfeeding her. Being a young mother was very tough job. She hadn't known what was like to have a full night's sleep in ages. Even though Geoff helped her a lot, she still had lots of new responsibilities that weren't normal for an ordinary eighteen-year-old girl.

Annabel looked to the ballerina mobile that was on the top of her daughter's crib and started to think about where she would be if little Holly hadn't been in her life. She would be probably in New York, practicing hard with the other girls to be part of the corps de ballet of the NYCB. Annabel sighed.

She loved her little Holly, and even though to be on that stage had been her life's biggest ambition, having her little girl with her was now her biggest dream. Annabel looked to of one of her and Harry's pictures together that she had placed in a shelf beside a single red rose in a blue vase. The picture had been taken in July three years ago during their summer holidays. Holly had inherited her father's bright green eyes and dark hair, but her noise, lips and chin were very similar her own.

After placing the baby in her crib, Annabel got the baby monitor and went downstairs in order to make herself some dinner. Geoff was probably going end up eating out again. Since they got back to London, they had found out that his father's business situation hasn't been good for a while. Two days ago, both of them had had their credit cards blocked, and their bank accounts had been frozen due to some judicial process that was going on. Until that moment, Annabel didn't know how bad the situation really was. Geoff was trying to sort the things out, but he lacked experience and wasn't having much success. Her mother had invested lots of money in his father's business as well, and if they didn't have a nice quantity of cash saved in their house safe, their situation would be even worse.

Once her salad was ready, she thought that maybe she could watch a movie or read a book while eating, but then her eyes dropped to her ballet shoes. How long had it been since she had last danced with them? Probably a few weeks, but for her it felt like years, even a lifetime. After spending every day of her life dedicating herself to ballet, now it felt like she was living inside someone else's life. Holly was sleeping; Geoff was out. She had the whole living room to be herself once again.

She decided that she wanted to try doing the Odette solo from _Swan Lake_. As the music started playing, she started her soft coordinated movements. Her arms wiggled like wings, and her feet guided her, making her look like she was floating into the living room. She closed her eyes and felt like she was the Odette herself. She was the pure, innocent girl, bewitched and condemned to live as a swan unless she found true love.

When she was almost done with the solo, she heard a cry coming from the baby monitor she had brought downstairs with her. She immediately turned off the music and went upstairs to see how Holly was doing. The baby girl had awakened much sooner than she was expecting her to.

"Shhh… Mom is here, Holly, my love," she said while picking her up.

Almost immediately the baby calmed down. Annabel started to sing a lullaby while walking around the baby girl's room. Then her eyes stopped on the same picture she had been examining earlier; a small dark blue cloth had been placed in front of it. She opened it carefully and saw her aunt's old bracelet, the same one she had given to Harry to take with him almost one year ago.

"Harry? HARRY! HARRY, ARE YOU HERE?"

She shouted desperately to the walls, as if expecting him to appear from the thin air.

"HARRY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

She looked for him everywhere. Maybe he was wearing that magic cloak of his. Why wouldn't he appear to talk to her? But soon enough, she realized: he was not coming. He wasn't there. He had gone, and giving her bracelet to her could only mean one thing – he was not going to come back.

Annabel hugged Holly, and they cried together. She cried as she had never done before. All her worst fears, all her nightmares, all her last hopes had died in that moment. Harry wasn't coming back. She was like Odette: betrayed and left all alone to live with her own fate.

**A/N:** **Sorry if I made your evening a bit depressing. Sometimes things need to get worse before they get better. I have a quick question for you: Shall I try to update two small chapters a week, or you would prefer a big one per week?**


	4. Wizards and Muggles

_**A/N:**__ All my eternal gratitude goes to __Litfreak89__ my dear beta reader who has just posted a new fic dedicated to me! If anyone is interested, it's a Sirius/ muggle OC and you can find it easily on my profile._

_**A/N2**__: Yesterday I made a huge mistake posting the wrong version of my fic! Sorry! Well, at least you guys can the the MIRACLES, that __Litfreak89__ does to my work! lol _

* * *

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

**"Why?"**

**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

"**_But could I tell only one muggle about magic?"_**

"**_Why would ya do that? Anyway, doing that, it's against the Ministry Laws. You wouldn't want have problem with them, would ya?_**

Harry was unpacking his newly bought school materials and organizing them on his bed. He couldn't believe everything that had happened during that day. Hagrid, the truth about his parents, Diagon Alley, Gringotts. He was a wizard, and he was going to attend Hogwarts in September.

He had just named his owl Hedwig, a name he'd found in _A History of Magic_, a few minutes before setting her free to hunt. When he heard a noise coming from his window, he thought he would find the white owl, but instead he had a very nice surprise. Annabel was throwing stones to his window, trying to call his attention.

"Harry! You are here! I've being throwing stones in all the windows. I'm so glad that you are the one who noticed it first! Do you think you can come out?"

"Bel, you're back!" Harry gave her a large smile.

He hadn't heard from her in ages! She had sent him a couple of postcards from the United States, to which he had replied with a letter that she hadn't returned.

"Yes! I just got back from the U.S. Look, the most amazing thing just happened to me. Come down, I need to show you something!"

She looked like she had gotten a letter from Hogwarts herself! _Would that be possible?_ Harry thought with his heart beating fast.

"Yes, I have some very good news too! I mean, so good that it sounds unreal! Wait, I will be there with you in a second!"

Harry quickly went down the stairs, remembering to jump over on the noisy last step. All three Dursleys were watching TV, and Harry managed to silently sneak out through the kitchen door without causing any further drama.

"Let's go to the park!" Harry said once they were far enough from the Dursleys' garden area. It was almost nine o'clock, but it was still light in the sky.

Harry noticed that Annabel looked radiant. He probably was looking like that as well; he just had had the best day of his life, after all.

"What do you need to show me so badly?" Harry asked while crossing his fingers for it to be a Hogwarts letter.

She got a paper from her pocket, but it wasn't the same parchment that he had gotten from the witchcraft school. It was a folded letter in regular paper, in_ muggle_ paper he thought.

"Look!" She pointed to the letter. "I've been accepted! I've been accepted to the Royal Ballet Lower School, which happens to be the best ballet school in the country! This means that I may have a chance to be a real ballerina one day"

"I thought you were a ballerina." Harry said feeling a bit confused. She was always doing ballet classes. Even when she was in Little Whinging for a holiday she would do some walk-in classes on the local studio. He really didn't understand much about this 'ballet world' that she lived in and was always talking about.

"I've always studied hard to be one. Now I might actually have a real chance of being one."

"Congratulations. You worked hard, you deserve it!" Harry said feeling a bit awkward. He was happy that she had also being accepted to a good school, but he wished that this school was the same one he was going to.

"Harry, I'm sorry, I think I'm being a bit tactless. I'm here talking about my amazing school, and you are going to Stonewall and all," she said looking a bit guilty.

"I'm not jealous of you if that's what you think" Harry said with a reassuring smile, "and I'm not going to Stonewall High anymore."

"What? Don't tell me that the Dursleys decided to send you to Smeltings with Dudley?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"No, luckily they didn't. It's away better than you can possibly imagine!" Harry said teasing her.

"Will you stop this suspense and tell me, please?"

"I'm being offered a place in the same school my parents went to. It's a boarding school in Scotland."

"I'm so happy for you! So you're finally going to leave the Dursleys'!" she said giving him a weak smile. "The only sad thing is that we probably are going to see each other much less frequently now. I was so happy that my school is not far away from here. I might be coming to my grandmother's every other weekend from now on. But your school is so far away. I don't think you'll be able to be back for the weekends."

"Well, we'll still have the summer, and I promise to write you all the time."

Once he said that, Hedwig landed next to him; it was like she was listening to their talk the whole time.

"Wow, look that bird!" Annabel said shocked with the proximity of the owl.

"Her name is Hedwig," Harry said while petting her beak. "She'll be delivering my letters to you… and you can answer me back with her help."

"She is so beautiful Harry! Can I pet her?" Bel asked.

Harry nodded.

"It's so _magical_! An owl delivering our letters. Where did you get her from? Are you sure she will manage the travel from Scotland to London?"

Hedwig looked to her as she had just being insulted. Harry, however, looked a bit unsure.

"She was a present from the guy who came here last night to give me the invitation for the school. He told me that trained birds are the best way to send letters home because our school is very far away."

"Which guy?"

"An old friend of my parents. He told me that the school is very far away, and it's not always possible for a postman to reach it, so he gave me Hedwig as a birthday present." Harry said thinking that this had surely being the best birthday of his life.

"Oh, Harry that reminds me…" she said while pulling two packets from inside her pack. The first one she opened herself, and it was revealed to be a small strawberry cake. "Happy Birthday, my friend! I was so excited about telling you all the good news about my new school that I completely forgot I've been baking this for you during the last three hours! Here is a proper present too."

"Thank you!" Harry said looking her work with admiration "You shouldn't have…"

"Yes, I should. Now tell me everything about this friend of your parents that you met. How is he? What does he look like? Did he tell you things about your parents?" She asked very curiously, and he sighed before he started to tell her other bunches of half-truths and a small bunch of lies.

It was the first time he had to tell a lie to her in order to keep the secret about the wizarding world from her. And it wouldn't be the last.

* * *

**Someday in May 1992**

"_Dear Harry,_

_You sounded very worried in your last letter. Please calm down! Even if this Professor Snape of yours does manage to steal something from your school, it won't change your life right? It's not like he plans to murder someone, I guess. Besides, have you thought about telling an adult? _

_Here in the Royal Ballet Lower School we can always go to our housemother if we have something bothering us. Although I believe that she would get a bit mad if I suggested that I believed that one of our teachers was trying to steal something from our school. Honestly, I think there is not much you can do about it._

_Anyway, my life has been a little bit stressful at the moment too. My body hasn't figured out yet how to do that complicated point work that I mentioned to you in my last letter. The worst thing is that I know that it will be part of our assessment. If don't get it right before our appraisals, I know that I won't be accepted to come back here for another school year. That's why I just MUST get it right!_

_Last weekend I went out with my mother and her new boyfriend and his super annoying son. The silly boy won't stop messing with my hair. They really freak me out, both of them, father and son. I can't stand having them both as part of my life any longer. I know that I do sound selfish when I say that, but I really hope that Mum and "Mr. Right" break up soon._

_And please, try to stay away from trouble, and don't get yourself another detention, right? Don't give people even more reason to marginalize you and your friends._

_Lots of love,_

_Bel_

_P.S. – When does your summer holiday start? I'm planning to stay a couple of weeks with my Nan, but I really want to do it when you're around."_

Harry was in a corner in the library reading for the third time the letter he had gotten from Annabel earlier that evening during dinner. He was scanning her handwriting, trying to find some comfort from it, but it was in vain. How was it possible for him to explain to her how the world would collapse if Snape managed to get that stone? How could he say to her that he might not even be alive during the summer's holiday if this robbery takes place?

"Harry! Here you are. Hermione asked me to get you. She apparently planned some mock tests for us based on previous first year's examination." Ron said, resigned.

"Hum… ok." Harry said, finally folding up the letter and keeping it safe in his pockets.

"What's up mate? You look… sad. Did Hedwig bring you bad news?" The ginger boy asked while pointing to the letter that already was on Harry's pocket.

"Oh, no. I just… don't you feel weird that we are revising for school exams when _he _might get the stone anytime?" Harry said lowering his voice so no one else could hear him.

"Oh, this. I suppose it is a bit weird. But you know Hermione… I don't think anything would stop her from revising. Not even if Hogwarts were under attack!"

"I suppose so. Let's not keep her waiting then," Harry sighed, resigned while following his best friend.

* * *

**Someday in September 1992**

"_Hi Harry,_

_I hope you are well. I can't believe how ridiculous this new teacher of yours is. This 'Professor Lockhart' seems to be the definition of narcissistic personality taken straight away from a psychology text book. I've never met him in person, but just reading your description of him makes me feel glad that I haven't. Surprise tests about his favorite colour and asking for your to help him to answer his fan letters as punishment? Impossible not to dislike this guy! Have you thought about complaining about him to the students' office? Just an idea._

_What have you done this time to get yourself a detention in the beginning of the term? You haven't told me that on your last letter. Are the troubles following you around again, or you are the one trying hard to get into them? _

_My school year has also started, and thankfully, with much less drama than yours. It's very nice not to be one of the 'new birds in the nest' anymore. I bet you are feeling the same. I even do have a little job of helping one of the new girls to settle down. The only 'bad' thing is that now I will have extra classes on Saturdays, which means less free time from now on. I'm not really complaining because, you know, dance is my life! _

_My school principal announced that some students from the years eight and nine are going to be selected to be part of the __Nutcracker__ in the Royal Ballet in December. Please wish me luck; I really want to be one of the lucky selected students!_

_Lots of love,_

_Bel"_

Harry smiled silently while was folding Annabel's letter away. He loved when Hedwig came back with a message from Bel during the morning owl post. This always made his day a bit brighter.

"How is your friend doing Harry?" Hermione asked while spreading some jam on her toast.

"She is fine. Her school is selecting some students to be part of the _Nutcracker_… she hopes to get a place in it."

"Nuts what?" Ron asked, confused.

"It's _Nutcracker,_ Ronald. It's a famous muggle ballet. I've watched it on TV once… it's so beautiful!" Hermione said with a dreamy voice.

"So… is your muggle friend going to be on TV?" Ron asked, interested.

"No Ron, I don't think so. I think it's more likely to be in a ballet theater. And she doesn't know if she'll get the part anyway. She just said that she hopes to be picked." Harry answered his best mate.

"Muggles are complicated." Ron sighed.

"I told her about Lockhart. She thinks that we should complain to the course coordination about him." Harry said hoping to hear his two best friend's opinions about Annabel's suggestion.

"What is wrong with Professor Lockhart?" Hermione asked.

"Well, 'Mione, isn't it obvious?" Ron asked indignantly. "What the hell does knowing that his favorite colour is lilac have to do with the subject he teaches?"

"I think that Professor Lockhart is brilliant!" The girl said, blushing as she stood up immediately.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, annoyed.

"Library. I need to get some citations for Snape's essay."

"Girls are complicated." Ron sighed again once Hermione was far away from the Gryffindor table.

Harry just nodded in agreement while he wondered if Annabel's opinion about Lockhart would be any different if she had been exposed to his award-winning smile and blond curly hair. Harry felt a small knot in his stomach when he thought about that. He really wished that Bel's opinion would remain the same, despite of how attractive Professor Lockhart could be.

* * *

**Someday in December 1992**

"_Dear Harry,_

_It seems that you have the gift of making your whole school turn against you. How do you manage to get yourself into so much trouble? Just because they think you are blood related to the person who is attacking the students in the past doesn't prove anything against you! And even if you were related to the leader of this gang who is beating up students (What a horrible thing! I hope they catch the aggressors soon!), it doesn't give them the right to treat you like that._

_Luckily, I don't have this gift for trouble that you've got, otherwise I could be in big trouble. The ballet world is very competitive! I've heard nasty stories of ballerinas that had glass put inside their pointed shoes because they had been chosen to perform a principle role. Just the thought of being bullied like that gives me chills!_

_It's very sad that you won't be able to attend my ballet presentation. Having you watching me on stage would mean a lot to me._

_With love,_

_Annabel_

_P.S. – I've sent you a scarf that I made myself! My cousin Jess has being teaching how to knit. She is very good at it, but as you can see, I didn't inherit her talent. I know that it looks horrible but it's still warm."_

Harry was sitting next to the window in the Gryffindor common room when he opened the package that contained the scarf. It wasn't a neat job, but he could tell that she had clearly put some effort into it. He was touching it with care, thinking about how she had done it with her little hands.

"Hey Harry! Is our little sister carrying on our mother's tradition of gifting their loved ones by giving them some horrible knitted piece of clothing?" Fred said, pointing to the scarf in Harry's hands.

"Pardon?" Harry asked, genuinely confused by this question.

"What my dear brother was trying to ask is: Did Ginny make this for you?" George asked.

"Oh, this scarf? No! I've got it from a friend." Harry said, blushing slightly.

"Little Ginny has a rival. Hurray!" Fred said, cheering the air.

"Maybe they could duel for your love under Lockhart's and Snape's supervision." George said, faking a very serious tone of voice.

"And they both could make snakes send love messages to you… shhhhi shhhove youssss Sssarry." Fred said, imitating a snake.

"Shut up!" said a very blushed Harry.

"We will stop!"

"But only if you tell us who she is."

"Which House is she in?"

"What is her surname?"

"What is her horoscope sign?"

"And what's her blood type?"

"This is all very important information, you see…"

"Because we need to know who is crazy enough to date the great great great great…"

"Great, great, great, great, great grandson of the snake house founder."

Harry really wished he had his invisibility cloak with him. The Weasley twins never had made him feel so embarrassed before. Luckily, the holidays had started, and the common room wasn't very full.

"I'm not dating her. I told you, she is just my friend," Harry whispered.

"Well, I don't think that this was the answer for any of our questions, am I right, George?"

"She doesn't attend Hogwarts. She is a muggle, you see," he said, shortly and dryly; Harry usually was quite fond of the twins' sense of humour, but it wasn't very funny when you were the one they're making fun of.

"Sorry, Harry. We didn't mean to make you angry." George said apologetically.

"Maybe a little bit annoyed. But just a little bit. Sorry if we've crossed the boundaries." Fred complemented the apology.

"Just let us know one thing…"

"Is your girlfriend pretty?"

Harry didn't answer them this time. He just gave the Weasley twins a mortal glare and went to his room.

* * *

**Someday October 1993**

"_Hi Harry,_

_I'll apologise in advance because I know that this probably won't be a big letter. It's almost curfew time here, and I couldn't find another time to write to you. I'm so full of homework from my classes and so many steps that I need to practice. Sometimes I just wish the day had some extra hours!_

_I went out for a dance-in with Matt and some of his mates from the senior years, and I must confess: I'm falling in love with South American dance. It's a rhythm full of happiness and joy, and there are so many different musical styles. I'm picking it up very fast. I'm starting with salsa bachata and Colombian salsa, but I definitely want to learn some samba and maybe some lambada dance later on. _

_When you get back to Surrey, we should go out dancing together some time!_

_Lots of Love,_

_Bel"_

Harry felt a wave of mixed feelings when he finished reading Annabel's answer for his last letter. She said she didn't have time to write him a proper letter, but she had time to go out salsa dancing with her friends - _male friends_. However, in the same letter she had asked him to go out 'dancing together' some time. What the hell was she trying to say?

Harry was bitterly wondering how weird it would be if he, who never had danced anything in his whole life – unless you counted the times he had been hit by the _tarantella spell_ – were to dance with an almost professional dancer. It would be comic if it wasn't almost tragic.

He decided that it was better to organize some thoughts in his mind before answering her letter. It was a normal thing for Annabel to go dancing with boys. She did go to a dance school after all. But why was he feeling so mad imaging her doing that?

* * *

**December 1993**

"_Dear Bel,_

_I really don't know how to start this letter, but I need to share this with you, otherwise I think I might explode. There are things about my parents' death that I've never mentioned to you before. The same day I received the news that I had been offered a place in my parents' old school, I was told that my parents didn't die in a car crash. They were murdered. _

_However, what I didn't know until today is that the reason that they were murdered was because they'd been betrayed by their best friend. This guy who betrayed them happened to be a famous serial killer – you might have heard about Sirius Black? I'm sure I saw some news about his escape on TV last summer. This man also happens to be my godfather. _

_I was in a pub, and I heard some of my teachers talking about it. That's how I found about out about it. I've never felt so mad at someone or something in my whole life. I wish I could do something to make him pay. I don't think that anything would be bad enough for him. I've just seen a picture of him… from my parents wedding. He was the best man. I've wondered if he was planning my parents' deaths at that time. _

_I'm sorry for not telling you the real story about my parents' deaths before. As you can see, it's not the most cheering of the subjects. Now that I've found out how they were betrayed, I felt the need to share it with you. _

_I hope you are well._

_Lot's of love,_

_Harry"_

Harry read the letter once more, just to make sure he wasn't telling her anything that would break the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. After folding it and putting the letter in an envelope, Harry went back to bed, but he didn't sleep. Thoughts about Sirius Black betraying his parents would keep him awake during the whole night.

* * *

It was Saturday night, and Annabel had just finished having dinner with her mother and her mother's boyfriend and Geoff at their house. The young teenage boy was taking pictures of her, and she was trying to ignore him. Annabel knew that if she gave him attention, then he would know that he had succeeded in his eternal '_let's get Annabel very annoyed'_ mission.

She was pretending to read a book when a white owl dashed into their living room.

"What the hell is that?" Geoff exclaimed, pointing to the bird.

"It's an owl," Annabel answered dryly.

This called the attention of both adults, who were deeply talking while drinking some wine on the sofa.

"Bel, take this bird to your room. I told you that I don't want it to get near my Persian carpet!" her mother insisted without leaving her lover's embrace.

"Hedwig, come here with me girl." The snowy owl flew straight to the girl's right arm. "I have some treats for you upstairs," Annabel said, quite glad to have an excuse to leave the room.

However, to her disappointment, she was being followed by Geoffrey. She tried to ignore him, wishing that he would stop in the first loo and let her go to her room in peace. But when he tried to follow her into her room, she had no other option but to acknowledge his existence. She stood by her room door, blocking his entrance.

"I'm sorry, have you lost something?" she asked him politely.

"No. I'm perfectly fine," he said, simply shooting another picture of her.

She blinked, momentarily blinded by the camera flash.

"Okay. In this case, I don't want to be rude, but I've got things that need to be done," she said, making a move to close the door, but he was faster and held it in a way that it was impossible for her to shut it.

"Actually, I have a question. Since when do you have an owl?"

"I don't have an owl. She is Harry's pet. Anything else?" she answered, annoyed.

"The Scarface had to be involved in it! You have a very bad taste in boys, did you know that?" he said, spitting his venom.

"And you have a very bad taste for jokes. Excuse me, but I really need to go." she said using his distraction to shut the door straight into his face.

After she locked the door, she opened the letter. As she began reading, she went white, and then she sat down on the corner of her bed. She bit her lip and looked to Hedwig. Annabel began wishing that she could find a magical solution to her friend's suffering.


	5. Muggles and Wizards

"_Dear Harry,_

_I really wish I could go all the way to Scotland and answer your letter with a hug. I know that there is nothing that I can say that will make you feel better, so give yourself a hug and pretend that I'm the one giving it to you._

_I won't say that I know how you are feeling because it would be a lie. The only thing I can do is try to put myself in your shoes and imagine how I would feel. My father lives very far away, and you know that my mother isn't the most present person in my life, but they are still alive. I used to see my parents almost like immortal creatures, but you made me realise that someday they might not be here to help me anymore._

_Knowing your life story, how you grew up without your parents, has made me see how lucky I am just for having my parents, and now that I know that your parents were murdered, I understand that it wasn't fate alone who took them from you. It was a person… a cold-hearted man whom they believed to be their best friend. There is no worse treason than that! _

_I think that if I was in your place, I probably would be extremely mad, wanting revenge… I believe that's more or less what you are feeling. Actually, that's exactly how I am feeling now. I feel like death wouldn't be enough punishment for this man…just because of the suffering he imposed upon you and for all the days that you have to live in a world where your parents are not alive. _

_You really should talk to my mother about it. I think if there is anyone in the world who could understand, at least a little bit, what you have been through, I think that it would be her. She'd lost her whole family when she was just eighteen. Both of her parents, her older brother, and her twin sister died because of a gas leak we had here in my house. Luckily, she had her Uncle Robert and my father who helped her to get over her depression._

_You know what? Sometimes I think that's the reason why she is such a workaholic. She never truly believed in the investigators' version about the leak. She said that the house didn't smell like gas when she entered. Yes, she's the one who found their bodies. It's almost as if she wants to put her frustration of that cold, unsolved case on the cases she works with. It's like she wants to make sure that all investigations are going to be done properly from now on._

_At least that's what my Aunt Jenny, Jess's mother, told me. _

_Anyway Harry, I really do hope that you manage to get the peace of spirit that my mother never managed to achieve. I want you to know that even though we are very far from each other, you can always count on me. _

_Lots of love,_

_Bel_

_P.S.– I'm sending you some chocolate brownies that I've just made. They always seem to cheer me up."_

Hedwig had returned with Annabel's answer one week before Christmas during the regular morning owl post. He was really touched by it, especially when she shared things about her mother's personal life.

"Hey Harry, what's in that tin?" Ron asked him curiously.

"Just some chocolate brownies that she made for me."

"Can I have one?" the red-haired boy asked greedily.

"Sure, help yourself," Harry answered him without take his eyes from the letter.

"Ronald! You can't have brownies for breakfast!" Hermione exclaimed, annoyed.

"Why not?"

"It's for dessert! Harry will kept them until after lunch time, won't you, Harry?"

Harry looked to Hermione, and only then he realised that she was talking to him.

"You can keep it safe for us 'Mione. I think I'm going to go for a walk," Harry said, standing up from the Gryffindor table.

"But I thought we were going to the library to research for Buckbeak's case," Hermione said slowly.

"I will catch up with you there," Harry said, leaving his two best friends in the Great Hall.

While walking on the path to the Owlery, Harry's head was invaded by thoughts about Annabel's mother finding the corpses of her whole family when she was only eighteen. Then he also thought about how it interfered in the relationship between mother and daughter. Harry didn't want to end up like that. He didn't want Sirius Black, who had been the one responsible for ruining his past, also to be responsible for ruining his present or future. No, he wouldn't let it happen.

Once in the Owlery, Harry quickly wrote a message.

"_Dear Bel,_

_Thank you very much for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. _

_I think you did understand me much more than I thought anyone would. You are a very special girl. I really wish that hug was real, but just the thought of it made me feel better. You calmed me down._

_How is your family doing? Are you finally going to spend Christmas in Italy this year? _

_Lots of Love,_

_Harry_

_P.S. – Thank you very much for the brownies. I'm really looking forward to having them after lunch. Well, if my friend Ron manages to keep some for me."_

Hedwig was flying back to London once again.

* * *

"_Dear Harry,_

_I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better. You are also a very special boy, and I wish we could spend more time together. It's a shame that we live so far away from each other. I swear that if ballet wasn't so important to me, I would beg my mother to transfer me to your school in Scotland, just so I could be near you._

_Unfortunately, it won't be this year that I'm going to spend Christmas in Italy with my father's distant family. We are spending it here with her boyfriend and the git – also known as his son. _

_Geoffrey is really getting on my nerves. Would you believe that he broke into my room and read all our letters? He even set fire to a couple of them. I think I've never felt so mad with him before._

_He's always stalking me around and taking pictures of me with that professional camera he got on his birthday. It's very creepy. But my mother and Mr. Right are always so busy enjoying each other's company that they never say anything about it._

_Can I join you at your school and spend Christmas with you? Please tell me I can! _

_Lots of love,_

_Bel"_

Harry felt a wave of rage when he read Annabel's letter. Who did this Geoffrey think he was to read Annabel's correspondence and stalk her around her own house? Why didn't the two adults who were with them tell him off?

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, concerned.

Ron and Hermione were playing a wizard chess match while Harry had planned on reading and answering his muggle friend's letter.

"Hermione, is there a way I can protect the letters I send to my friend? A boy she doesn't like very much broke into her room and read all the letters I've sent to her!" Harry said angrily.

"Oh Harry, that's awful!" the girl exclaimed.

"Send a box with a very nasty jinx to the nosy guy. I'm sure the bloke will think twice before breaking into her mail again," Ron said with a mischievous look.

Harry who had heard and seen enough about Geoffrey bad actions, decided that Ron's idea wasn't to be ignored.

"Yes, I think I might do that," Harry nodded.

"No, Harry! You cannot do that! You could be expelled, or even arrested! Using any form of jinx, spell, or potion on a muggle is very illegal. Unless, of course, you are doing something to save their lives or to protect them somehow, doing otherwise would most certainly bring you trouble," Hermione said worriedly.

"What do you suggest then? That Harry stays calms while a complete jerk carries on spying on his letters?" Ron said restive.

"No, I didn't say that! But I think that Harry should use a different approach." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"What do you suggest, then?" Harry said intrigued.

"Well… maybe instead of sending a box with a nasty jinx, send her a box where she can keep her letters safe from unwelcome nosy eyes."

"I don't really get what you mean," Harry said confused.

"Let's go to the library… I think I know the book that has the correct spells!"

* * *

"_Hi Harry,_

_Thank you very much for your Christmas present. This ballerina music box is so cute! I will do it as you suggested and use it as my new letter box. It's going to be the new home for all the letters you send me._

_My school term is staring tomorrow. I really can't wait to go back to my school. I'm missing my friends, my classes, and especially dancing with my friends. And this term is promising to be especially nice because we are going to have a visit from one of the best ballerinas in the world. I really can't wait!_

_Some gossip about my dramatic family: I'm going to have brother! Apparently, my dad got a nineteen-year-old pregnant out of despair from his future ex-wife, also known as my younger sister's mother. My mother now is exclaiming for everyone who wants to hear that she always imagined that something like that would end up happening sooner or later._

_I'm feeling a bit awkward with this entire situation. I'm happy because I am going to have a brother; sad because my father is going to leave Emily the same way he left me; annoyed with my mother's comment about my father (even though, I must admit: she does have a point); and very shocked that my father is having a relationship with a woman who is only five years older than me. _

_How are your friends doing? How is the football training? Any news about the capture of that certain individual that I prefer not to mention? I hope you're well._

_Lots of love,_

_Bel"_

"Your plan worked 'Mione. She is using the music box to store her letters," Harry said folding the letter and keeping it safe on his jacket.

He was still annoyed with her after having his Firebolt confiscated by McGonagall, but he had to give her the credit for coming up with the box idea.

"That's good! Now only she or any of her decedents can open the music box. Not even a wizard can see its contents without her permission."

"Not that she will have many wizards wandering around her possessions; I mean, she is a muggle, right?" Ron asked.

"It's better be safer than be sorry," Hermione concluded.

* * *

"_Hi Harry,_

_I'm sad to hear that your best friends are not speaking with each other anymore. It must be awful for you… to be in the middle of their fight. Hermione has a point when she says that there is no proof that her cat has killed Ron's rat, even though it's very likely to be what happened in the end. But I'm sure that sooner than later they will make up, and everything will be normal once again._

_Professor Lupin seems to be very kind helping you develop your science project. I would like to hear about this project!_

_I'm very upset at the moment for two big reasons. The first one is that I fell from the stairs last week, and I injured my ankle. I'm very worried because I won't be able to dance for at least three weeks according to the physiotherapist. He also said it could take a bit longer. The problem is that I CAN'T afford spend so much time away from my dance lessons. The appraisals are coming up, and I need to be on my best shape soon!_

_The second thing that is upsetting me is that my mother and Mr Right are going to tie the knot. I know that I should be happy for them, but I really can't help it! The only thing I can think about is that George and Geoffrey are going to move to my house soon. I never have been more glad to be studying at a boarding school. _

_Lots of Love_

_Annabel"_

Harry thought about feeling really worried about the prospect of Geoffrey living in the same house as Annabel. He didn't trust that fellow. Harry thought that if that guy did something nasty against Annabel, he would most certainly ignore Hermione's advice and would end up sending him some jinx by the owl post.

He looked around the Great Hall and saw Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker, whispering and giggling with one of her friends. She was very pretty, and Harry felt a strongly attracted by her oriental beauty since their Quidditch match. At the same time, not long ago, Harry had started to imagine scenes of him and Annabel kissing and doing other things that made him blush.

After putting her letter in his pocket, Harry decided that he needed to find out a way to better understand the feelings he had for both girls.

* * *

"_Dear Bel,_

_Happy Valentine's Day. This rose I'm sending to you is a flower that is unlikely to die, no matter the conditions in which you keep it. It's part of my science project I told you about. The legend says that this flower only dies when the true love dies. I hope you like it._

_I feel very sorry that you'll have to live with 'the git' from now on. I've lived with Dudley; I'd know more than anyone else about how terrible it is to live under the same roof as a bully relative. But if he does anything nasty to you, he will have to answer it to me. I won't accept him stalking you around, messing up your things… or doing anything else who might invade your space._

_With love,_

_Harry"_

When Harry was able to conjure the red rose while thinking about Annabel, he was surprised that he realised that he was in love with the muggle girl. Professor Flitwick had mentioned the spell, which was known as the _proof of love spell_ the week before Valentines' day. Harry decided to try performing the spell. For his own astonishing, he managed to do it without a big effort. It meant that while Harry carry on loving Annabel, the flower would stay alive. If it died, meant that he had no longer romantic feelings for her.

* * *

"_Bel,_

_A miraculous thing happened: my friends and I found out that my godfather didn't betray my parents in the end. I'm looking forward to telling you all about it once I'm back to Surrey on the 19__th__ of June. _

_Harry"_

Annabel was on the school patio thinking about the dryness of Harry's letter. He had never sent her something so short before.

"Hey Bel, what's up?"

Annabel's recognized the voice belonging to her favourite dance partner in world: her friend, confident and classmate, Matt.

"Nothing really. I'm just thinking about my life…"

"Harry."

"Pardon?"

"Harry, the owl guy. You are thinking about him."

She blushed.

"You should tell him. I think he likes you too."

"How can you know? You've never met him."

"That flower he sent you on Valentine's Day? I've never seen anything more romantic than that in my life."

"We're friends! That's why he sent me that."

"Oh, really? And I'm Santa's reindeer! If that boy doesn't like you, my name isn't Matthew."

Annabel sighed, and then she finally asked him.

"Matt, how do I tell a boy that I like him?"

* * *

"_Hi Harry,_

_I've been thinking a long time about us."_

Annabel threw the paper in the bin. Shamefully, there was no such a thing like 'them'. At least not yet.

"_Harry,_

_Every time I think about you, I feel like I'm about to explode."_

Bel stopped. Writing this would very likely scare him. So she decided to discard her second attempt of writing.

"_Harry,_

* * *

_I really like you. I mean it. I like you the same way a girl likes a boy… or the way a woman likes a man. Or two human beings could possibly love each other."_

Annabel shredded the paper into a pile of tiny pieces before throwing it away. The quality of her lines was lessening. This wasn't good at all.

"_Harry,_

_I asked my mother if I could bring a date to her wedding, and she said that I could. I was wondering: would you like to go to her wedding with me as my date?_

_Xx_

_Bel"_

After reading it for what seemed to be the hundredth time, Bel decided that the message was clear, simple, and direct, and she hoped he would understand. She also hoped that Matt's predictions about Harry's feelings were right.

* * *

**A/N - Do you think that Mr Potter will understand this? I think I might have rushed a bit with this Romance... but I want to get the story! **


	6. Youthful Love

Harry received Annabel's message the day after Professor's Lupin resignation. He was happily surprised by the girl's inviting him as her date for her mother's wedding. Harry knew that he had nurtured feelings other than simply friendship for the muggle girl for a while now, and now she had implicitly said that she wanted be something more than his pen-pal and friend. He was more than willing to try having something with her. For this reason, he just couldn't keep the silly smile off of his face.

"Harry, what's the problem with you today? You just let me destroy your queen in less than three moves," Ron asked incredulously.

"Ron is right. You've seem a bit 'over the moon' since you received your friend's letter. Is there anything you feel like sharing?" Hermione, who had been watching the wizard chess game, had also decided to make a comment.

Part of Harry didn't want to tell his friends. The other part, however, wanted to shout it for everyone to hear.

"She asked me to be her date for her mother's wedding," Harry decided to say in the end.

"Wow! You are going to have a snog!" Ron said a bit loud, which made a few people turn their heads to their direction and giggle.

"Thank you for being so discrete Ron," a blushed Harry told off his best mate.

"It's great, Harry! You have been into her for a while now, haven't you?" Hermione grinned.

"I guess so. I'm glad she did ask me though. I think I would never have dared cross that line if wasn't a hundred percent sure that she liked me back. She's always been my friend and all…"

* * *

Despite the fact that he had to use metaphors in order to tell Annabel simple things about his daily life, Harry found out that sometimes it felt very comforting to read her letters and see her thoughts about his problems. He also enjoyed reading her problems and things about her daily routine.

On the other hand, it was very difficult for the muggle girl to fully understand everything that was going on in Harry's head and on his magical school's grounds. He couldn't really tell her anything about Voldemort and the true meaning of his scar. Because of this, it was really hard to make her realise the real danger that he was constantly facing. In the same way, it wasn't easy for Harry to comprehend the importance that ballet had in Annabel's life. He never really realised the amount of time that she had to devote in order to make her body perform a slightly more perfect leap. He didn't understand why she had panicked so much when she had to stay away from the dancing classes for three weeks because she had a very small injury to her left ankle.

However, despite living in completely different worlds – the magical and the ballet world – and being unable of fully understand each other's little problems, somehow they managed not only to preserve their friendship, but to deepen it even though they weren't able to see each other as often they would have liked. For Annabel, Harry was the friend that she had managed to stay in touch with on a regular basis outside her school. For Harry, she was the only muggle that had ever been friends with him.

Despite all the differences, they also had a nice dynamic that was based on a mutual respect for things they didn't quite understand about the other, but they accepted that side without much questioning.

The other thing was the strong attraction that they had always felt for each other; even though in the beginning they were too young to realise and understand those feelings that they had nurtured, it was becoming more and more clear every year when they finally got to see each other during the summer breaks.

Annabel would always try to get back to her nan's every time Harry was on summer holidays from Hogwarts. During those days, most of the time Annabel was there alone, but sometimes she was accompanied by her cousin Jess, who also lived in Little Whinging, or more rarely, by Geoffrey.

One thing that Harry had learned about Geoffrey through her letters was that he was a very spoiled, arrogant brat. After meeting him for the first time, he understood completely what she meant by that. Geoffrey had the personality of Draco Malfoy and Dudley Dursley combined. When introduced to Harry, the muggle boy wouldn't stop making disguised jokes about Harry's lack of fashion or the fact that Harry's hair was so messy that it looked like a bird's nest.

It hadn't been a very easy task to convince the Dursleys to let their '_troubled freak nephew'_ spend a whole week at the girl's house in London. It took a great persuasive intervention speech made by Annabel's grandmother for them to accept. After the wedding, the Weasleys would pick him up so he would be able to attend the Quidditch World Cup. Harry knew that this would probably be the best summer of his life!

Annabel and her mother lived in a six-bedroom Victorian house in the borough of Islington, not very far from Angel tube station. It was a big house for only the mother, daughter and French au pair who lived with them, but Annabel's mother refused to move anywhere else. It had been her parent's house after all. The luxurious look of that place made the Dursleys look like poor people.

Harry had never been in a ballet studio, but he thought that Annabel's room probably resembled one. The room was all white with details in purple, and a big mirror that covered one of the walls and a ballet bar had been put in front of it. She also had a double bed next to the window, a desk and two wardrobes – one for her ballet costumes and another for normal clothes, she explained to him. Harry stayed in one of the guestrooms, which he thought to be much nicer than his actual room. The room in which Harry stayed was next to the room that was going to belong to Geoffrey once he moved to the house with his father.

During the days Harry spent in the company of the muggle girl, he got to see a bit of muggle London in a way he never had done before. They didn't do the touristic things because Annabel and her au pair Lauren were very busy organizing last-minute wedding details. But they got to go for nice walks and bicycle rides around the Regent's Canal and Angel area. Harry, who had never ridden a bicycle before in his life, - Dudley would have rather died than lent his bike to Harry –learned very quickly.

On his third day in London, he went on a muggle suit hunt with Annabel and Lauren. The girl had decided to give it to him as an early Christmas present. Harry tried to protest, but the girl was determined to get him nicely dressed for her mother's wedding.

"I know that you don't own a decent suit, and don't you even dare show up to my mother's wedding wearing your school uniform!"

Harry kind of agreed that he needed the clothes, but it didn't feel right having her spending loads of money on him while he had a small fortune of gold buried somewhere not far from them. But as he didn't have a muggle credit card, he had to accept that he would need to pay her back another time. It took more than fifteen different tries of suits, shoes, shirts and ties until both females were satisfied with the final result.

Even though Annabel despised her mother's wedding, she was the one who was taking care of its organization because her mother was very busy working on a _very important case_. The only moment that Harry had seen her mother at home was when the woman stopped by to pack some clothes to take for a work travel that she was going to make. Only then did Harry realise that Annabel had not over-reacted when she had written to him telling him that it had been _weeks or months_ since the last time she had seen her mother.

Little progress had been made on Harry and Annabel's _dating_ so far. The only thing that had changed between them was that they were extremely shy around each other. Annabel seen to be waiting on Harry to make the first move, but he didn't want to do anything with her au pair around, and he was sure that the woman was following them everywhere. The most that he had done until that moment was hold her hand and kiss her cheek when they were taking the bus back home after one of their walks, and it had taken him all his Gryffindor courage to do so. He was compensated for his gesture when Bel leaned her head on his shoulder for the rest of the journey, but no proper kiss had happened yet.

One of the things she had decided to make herself had being some cupcakes to give as little wedding favour presents for the guests. It was two days before the wedding, and Harry and Annabel had spent most of the afternoon decorating the little cakes that she had made. Well, she was decorating… Harry was 'testing the flavours.'

"Those are looking like professionally-made ones, Bel. Your grandmother will be very proud when she sees them."

"Yes, they are looking good, aren't they? Harry, can you please help me put these I've finished in those little plastic boxes? When Lauren comes back with the ribbons she can finish them with you. She is very good with it." Bel pointed to the boxes while she carried on putting the icing on the cupcakes.

"Sure…"

Harry was about to start to transfer the little cakes when she went running on his direction.

"Wait! Wait! Wait, Harry! I completely forgot!" she said while she sprinted to the sink to wash her hands.

She got a little box from a top shelf and went to where Harry was waiting.

"I completely forgot that I ordered these personalized chocolates to go on the top of each cake."

"Mr. and Mrs. Harrison? So is this going to be your mother's last name?" Harry asked, interested.

"Yes, and I'll proudly carry on being the only Morelli in the house. Why does the woman need to add the name of the man and not the other way around? It's such an ancient rule."

Harry had decided to make the most of the rare moment where her au pair wasn't present and moved a bit closer to the girl.

"Well, if you prefer you can keep the Morelli. But I would love to call you Annabel Potter one day," Harry said, taking her chin, making her look up, straight to his eyes. She was one head shorter than him. He could see every single inch of her face.

"_Harry_! Look what you are saying! We're only fourteen!" She sounded overwhelmed, but she was still smiling. She put her hands on his hair.

"A boy can dream, right?" They were centimetres away from each other. Harry could hear her heart beat.

"You got icing on your lips." It was the last thing Harry heard her say before their lips touched for the very first time.

It was at this precise moment that they heard steps coming from the front door. They broke up the un-started kiss immediately, and Annabel went running back to work on the icing. Harry wondered if Lauren would be able to notice that anything different had happened between them.

"I 'ad to go to three deeffrent stores, but I did get zee pur-pell ribbons," the au pair said showing it to them.

"Nice job! Maybe you could help Harry box up those that are ready," Bel said.

Harry was impressed at how she had managed to keep her expressions hidden so well.

"By zee way, I 'ave just received a call from your _mére_. She told me zat she took part in the… 'ow do you say…the detainment of an international trafficking gang in Greece. She asked me to inform you zat she ees getting the first flight back home. She mentioned zat she should be 'ere before midnight."

"How kind of her! She decided to join us on her own wedding day. I was seriously thinking that I would have to call everyone and tell them that it would have to be cancelled because she couldn't be bothered to attend her own wedding. I must say that I was actually quite happy with this prospect," Annabel said sarcastically.

"My mother is really unbelievable! What woman goes to another country a day before her wedding to hunt and arrest a bunch of criminals? Please tell me because, as far as I am concerned, she is the only one!" Harry had never seen Bel so angry with someone before.

"Now tell me! Tell me if she knows the type of flowers that she is having at the church? Tell me if she knows anything about the table settings, the music that is going to be played… pick anything about the wedding, and ask her to see if she knows. She won't know, and do you know why? Because I've done most of it on my own! You know what? I don't know why I even care… nothing I do seem to be good enough for her anyway."

Harry didn't dare make any comment about it, nor did Lauren. For a moment, Harry was certain that Bel would start to cry, but she started to work on the cupcakes again, which made him feel very glad. The three of them carried on working in silence for while, and when all the cupcakes had been neatly placed in their boxes and all the washing-up had been done, Lauren approached Annabel.

"Bel… you know zat tonight was supposed to be my night off…" she started. "I believe zat your _mére_ thought she probably would be back at zis time. I know zat I shouldn't leave you alone… but tonight ees my friend's birthday. I thought zat maybe zis could be our little secret?" the au pair asked, feeling slightly bashful.

Annabel was grinning from ear to ear and looked like Christmas had arrived early.

"Of course! I promise my mom won't know a thing about it!"

"_Merci beaucoup_! You're ze best! I am going to order a pizza for ze both of you. It is my treat."

* * *

Annabel watched Lauren leave the house by the window on the TV room. She had planned to watch a movie with Harry, and maybe do other _things_ in between every other boring scene. She knew that the kiss that she had being imagining for the past couple of months was finally going to happen.

"She is gone!" Annabel said, looking to Harry, who was serving the soft drinks on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

He smiled back. "So, which movie do you want to watch?"

"I really don't mind. You can pick anything you want from that shelf," she said, walking towards him.

"Right." He was reading through the titles when he was surprised by her hand touching his.

"Actually, don't choose anything. Just kiss me."

Harry didn't feel like he needed a second invitation, and he started kissing her straightaway. Their first proper kiss started a bit clumsily, but as their snog progressed and they began learning their ways around each other's bodies, techniques were quickly improved. Her skin was the softest thing he had ever touched, and her hair smelled like oranges that had just been picked. Harry wasn't able to tell how long they had been kissing when she guided him to the sofa and asked him to lie down.

She lay on top of him and carried on with their first snog session. Only when Harry realised that his hands were trying to open her bra from under her with _wandless magic__did_ he decide that it was time to break their embrace.

"Stop. Please. Stop. _Bel, we need to stop__!_" he said firmly while trying to move her mouth away from his chest.

"Stop!? Why do you want to stop?" she asked mischievously.

"If we don't stop now, I don't think I'll be able to control myself," he said, sitting down on the sofa and helping himself to some apple juice.

"So?"

"_So?_ You were the one that was telling me that we're only fourteen one hour ago!" Only then Harry realised that his vision were completely blurry. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and he didn't have any clue where they possibly could be. He also noticed that _somehow_ he also wasn't wearing his t-shirt.

"Well, this is what happens when you start saying silly things that involve me having your surname."

"Do you dislike 'Potter' that much?" Harry said a bit insecurely.

"No, this is nothing related to your name." She stopped trying to find the right words. "I just… I don't think I like the idea of marriage at all. This cultural thing about promising to love one single person for the whole eternity doesn't attract me. I feel like the idea of a commitment in a single monogamous and boring relationship may not be for me."

"Right," Harry said while trying to digest this new piece of information about her.

"You look so sexy without your glasses! Your eyes are so beautiful; has anyone ever told you that?" she said, hugging him.

"What people usually tell me is that they were my mother's eyes," Harry said simply. "Talking about that, do you know where my glasses are, by any chance?"

"Yes. I took then off. I kept them very safe here on floor." She picked them up, but instead of giving them back to him, she decided to try them on. "Wow, you're blind. How do I look?"

"I have no idea. I'm blind, remember? Can you give it back so I can see you too?"

"How about we play a game, and if you win, I give them back to you?"

"How about you give them back to me now, and if I win the game, you will dance for me?"

"And if I win?"

"Well, then you can choose whatever you want."

She inclined to his ear and whispered something that made Harry blush.

"Okay, I can give you that. But it must be the best of three. And I'll choose the game."

"It's a deal." she said smiling while giving his glasses back.

* * *

**A/N - What do you think that she whispered on his ear? Who do you think that won this game? Well if you really want to know that you'll need to review this chapter and then I will answer it via MP ;)**


	7. Her crazy little family

Harry was feeling so excited the night after their first kiss that it was extremely hard for him to sleep. All he could think about was how nice the moments that he had shared with the muggle girl had been. When he finally managed drift off to sleep, he woke up to a shooting pain through his scar that was accompanied by a dream that involved Wormtail, Voldemort and an old man whom Harry had never seen before. Harry couldn't remember many details about the dream, but he knew that they were potting to kill someone… _him_.

Harry got his wand and prepared himself to fight, expecting to see Voldemort entering through his room at any moment because the only other time he had felt his scar hurting this much was when Voldemort was hidden in Hogwarts.

"Bel!" Harry whispered in despair when he realized that maybe Voldemort could very well be close to her room.

With his wand in his fist, Harry dashed up the stairs in order to reach the third floor, where he knew her room was. When he opened door, he was glad see that she was still there, in a nightmare-free deep sleep. Her room window was wide open, letting the summer breeze inside. Harry went to her window and looked down to the street. Everything was completely calm and deserted, and the only living creature he could see was a cat in a tree. No sign of any dark lord anywhere near them. Even though he knew that it wouldn't stop Voldemort from getting inside the muggle's house, he decided to shut her room's window.

He stayed there in silence for a few minutes, guarding her sleep with his wand in his hand, ready to attack if necessary. Even though his thoughts were on the possibility of Voldemort being near them, Harry could not stop noticing the beauty of the girl who was sleeping so next to him. She looked like the perfect mixture of sweetness and sexiness. He had a perfect line of sight of her white cotton knickers as her nightie had come up to her belly button while she was sleeping. At the same time, however, she was hugging a blue teddy bear – and Harry felt a massive desire to be the toy she was hugging.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" she said, not louder than a whisper, yawning.

"I…" What could he say? "I needed to come and check if you were okay."

"And why wouldn't I be?" She asked, sitting up while she stretched her arms and legs. Only then she seemed to notice that her nightie had risen up while she was sleeping. "Or, you were here to spy my bum, huh?"

"No! I swear I…" If the light had been on, she would have been able to see that Harry's face had turned the colour of a tomato. "I… had a nightmare, and I needed to make sure you were okay."

"Oh Harry! That's so sweet!" She went up on her knees and hugged him while she was still on her bed. "What was this nightmare about?"

"I would prefer not to talk about it if you don't mind."

"That's fine. I'm here with you now, and nothing bad is going to happen to us."

She gave him a soft kiss that he answered without closing his eyes, trying to keep his wand ready with one hand and touching her hair with the other.

"But did you enjoy the view of my bum?" she whispered inside his ear. Harry felt his whole body shaking as her voice enunciated the words.

"Yes…" Harry answered, finally surrendering to her touch. Her summer nightie fabric was very light and their bodies were almost touching each other. His free hand started to slide down her body, exploring her small curves. Annabel guided this same hand to her bum and placed it inside her knickers. At this stage, Harry had completely forgotten about the reason he had invaded the girl's room.

It was only when she tried to guide his other hand, the one that was still holding his wand, that she broke the kiss.

"What is this thing you're holding?"

Only then did Harry remember that he was still holding his wand. It also made him remember the real reason he was there in the first place.

"This? This is my wan-wood working project," Harry said, trying to avoid her eyes.

"Right…"

She didn't ask anything else about it, but Harry could see that she didn't buy it. She didn't ask him any further questions though. Instead she let him go, stood up, put her dressing gown on, and walked to a spot near her door. Her gesture made Harry feel really bad for having lied to her about something so small.

"Bel…"

"Harry, that's fine. I think we both should go to bed now. We'll need to attend a wedding in few hours, and I'm going to be a bridesmaid. I don't want to look tired in the pictures."

"I'm sorry."

He didn't know what else he could say. He wished that he could show her who he really was at least once.

"I said it's okay. Come here." She gave a little peck on his lips. "A last goodnight kiss, so you can have sweet dreams about me this time."

* * *

He went back to his room, but he still couldn't get to sleep. Instead, after realizing that he needed some advice about the pain in his scar, he end up deciding that writing a letter to Sirius and asking his opinion about it would be his best option.

_"__**Dear Sirius,**_

_**Thank you for your last letter, that bird was enormous; it could hardly get through my window.**_

_I've spent the last couple of days here in London at my girlfriend's house. Her mother is getting married this afternoon, and we spent most of last week doing some work for her wedding. I'm really having a great time here; however, I do feel a bit bad about hiding things about me from her though – she is a muggle, you see._

_But I'm really glad to be away from the Dursleys, and especially to be free from Dudley's diet plan. This afternoon we've been making some cupcakes that would certainly make my cousin to feel very jealous._

_**A weird thing happened this morning though. My scar hurt again. Last time that happened it was because Voldemort was at Hogwarts. But I don't reckon he can be anywhere near me now, can he? Do you know if cursed scars sometimes hurt afterwards?**_

_**Harry**_

Once he had sent the letter, he started to get dressed on his newly bought muggle suit. Harry was having such a good time with Annabel that he almost felt sad that the Weasleys would be coming to pick him up the next day to take him to the Quidditch World Cup1.

However, the events of last night made him feel like he might be putting her in danger just by being in her house. Even though it could also mean that staying with the Weasleys could put them at risk as well, at least they were wizards, lived in a house with magical wards, and stood a much better chance of defending themselves than Annabel and her family.

Completely dressed, Harry was making his way to the kitchen when he bumped into Annabel. The girl was wearing the same dressing gown he had seen her wearing earlier, but this time her hair was wet.

"Oi Harry. Did you have any nice dreams?"

"No dream could have been better than the moments we shared last night. How about yourself? Did you manage to get some rest?"

"Yes, a little bit. You're looking very nice. I knew that a brightly coloured tie would add some personality. Nice choice on the red."

"Thanks. Well done to you for choosing all the rest! I love your wet hair by the way."

She stroked his cheeks and said, "A woman named Naomi is waiting for you downstairs. She is Lauren's friend and is going to be replacing her today – Lauren is not feeling well, you see. It's really a shame because we're relying on her to help with so many things… anyway, you and Naomi are going to have to go earlier and organize some things. I gave her a list with tasks; it's all very simple," Annabel said, looking a little bit stressed.

"Why don't you come with us? Wouldn't it be much simpler?"

"I'm a bridesmaid, remember? I'll enter the church with my mother, Jess, and Jenny. They must be arriving here very soon. Please, call me if you guys have any doubt."

"Okay, I'm sure we'll manage it. But before I go… do I get to have little kiss?"

"Hum, I'm sure we can arrange that."

Their lips were about to touch when they were interrupted by a loud cough.

"Good morning, Bel; good morning, Harry."

Bel's mother walked down towards them. Like Bel, she was also wearing a dressing gown. Harry, who had had very little contact with the woman so far, felt extremely embarrassed by being caught almost kissing her daughter in her house.

"Good morning, ma'am," Harry said shyly.

Annabel didn't say anything.

"You don't need to be embarrassed. I know you two are having are having a thing. I have eyes everywhere. Not that it would be necessary, after all of those letters you two little love birds have exchanged. What a pitiful police investigator I would be if I had not noticed. Dorothy told me that you are a good boy, so I am going to give you a vote of confidence. But I only want to let you know that _I'm aware that you sneaked into Annabel's room last night to do God knows what_. I know that you two are adolescents, and that you have those foolish, silly hormones screaming inside of you. But as I do not have the desire to become a grandmother before the age of fifty, both of you please do me a favor and use condoms."

"MOM!" Annabel was extremely red. Harry knew he was very likely to be even more blushed than she was.

"Did I say anything wrong? If I did, please correct me. Now let me fix this tie." And she started to make Harry's tie knot once again, looking like she had just made a comment about the weather.

Harry couldn't bear to look the woman in the eyes while she re-tied his tie, so he looked to his shoes instead. All he could think about was how he had just been told by Annabel's mother to wear a condom.

"Much better now! It's a very nice choice of suit, Bel. Maybe good taste in clothing is genetic."

"Lauren helped me. And Harry had his say in it too," Annabel cut her dryly.

Harry thought this wasn't entirely true. The only thing he had chosen was his tie and that was after Annabel had offered him some pre-selected ones.

"I still think that you need something else… hold on a second!" the woman exclaimed while climbing up the stairs very quickly, leaving the two teenagers alone once again.

"I'm so sorry about that!" Annabel whispered to him.

"I feel like we deserved it," Harry whispered back.

They stayed in an awkward silence for a few moments until her mother returned with a small box.

"A tie clip and a pocket square. They belonged to my brother."

"Sorry, I can't…"

"Yes, you can. Don't even start… you don't want to see me angry," Annabel's mother said while adding the two things to his suit.

Harry, who now knew the tragic story of how she had lost her family, couldn't help but feel very touched by her gesture.

"This is… thank you very much."

"Don't mention it. Just make good use of it. Things like this shouldn't be in cupboards gathering dust. Now you'd better go. We still need to get ready – I can't believe that I'm getting married today, after all!"

* * *

Harry had just helped Naomi load the car with cupcakes boxes and the many other things that they were supposed to bring and put on display at the wedding venue. Naomi's black and white hair tied extravagantly, in conjunction with her dark dress, made her look like a rock star in Harry's opinion.

"You can do it, you can do it, you can do it…" Naomi said, looking a bit worried while looking at the car panels.

"Are you sure you know how to drive?" Harry asked her, raising his eyebrow.

"Of course I know how to drive!" she said, a little bit offended. "The thing is that this car is a bit different from the one I usually drive. Wow, look that man!" she said, making Harry turn his head look at a man running down the street with two big dogs.

"What about him?"

"He was cute, wasn't he? At least the car is working now!" she celebrated. "So, what's the first thing we need to do again?"

Harry unfolded the list in his hands before telling her.

"We need to go to the reception place and give the cupcakes to a man named… watch out that cyclist!"

Her driving style was the craziest that Harry had ever seen. She didn't seen to understand the road signs, and they ended up somehow driving in the wrong traffic lane.

"Are you sure you know how to drive!?" Harry asked, worried that they would either end up killing someone or being arrested by a policeman.

"No… I'm not sure!" she answered, feeling a bit worried herself. "Oh, I think that is the place we need to go." She pointed to a posh hotel by the canal.

"Thank God!" Harry sighed in relief.

When she parked, she managed to crash into the car in front and into the car behind them. Luckily, it didn't leave any marks on either car.

"Well, it wasn't that bad for a first time drive, right?"

"You told me that you had driven before!"

"Sorry, I lied. I needed the job. A girl needs to pay her bills, right? Now let's make our delivery. What was that man's name again?"

* * *

Harry helped Naomi do little jobs like setting up the box for the wedding cards, putting up the tables, and organizing some small activities that Annabel had planned for the guests. By the time they arrived at the church, Geoffrey and his dad were already there, both wearing purple ties, as were a few guests that Harry never had met before.

Naomi and Harry decided to pick a seat at the back of the church.

"It feels so weird to be at a wedding where you don't know a single soul," Naomi whispered to Harry.

"I'm feeling exactly the same way."

"At least you are friends with the daughter of the bride. Poor Laura, I hope she is not too sad about missing this."

"I thought her name was Lauren… Where did said you know her from again?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"We went to school together," Naomi said automatically.

"In France?" Harry

"Yes, I am half-French. Look at those hats; they are so funny. That woman looks like she has a bird's nest on her head!" Naomi pointed with her head.

"You are not dressed very discreetly yourself…" Harry teased

"Well, at least I've got some style. That is just tacky!"

They stayed there talking for a while. Naomi was a very easy-going and nice person to talk with. He was very glad that he had her to keep him company; otherwise, he was sure that he most certainly would have felt extremely dislocated.

By the time they announced the bride, Harry was feeling very anxious. He was really looking forward to seeing his girlfriend in her bridesmaid's dress. The first person to walk down the aisle was a girl named Jess whom Harry knew from Little Whinging, followed by a woman whom Harry recognized as being the girl's mother accompanied by a boy named Dennis, who Harry knew to be one of the bullying friends of Dudley.

Then came Annabel, who was wearing a very simple white dress, and like the other bridesmaids, she carried a small white rose bouquet. Her hair had been put up in a very nice braided style. He had never seen her hair like this before. He just couldn't take his eyes off of her. All he knew was that Naomi had to hit him with her elbow so Harry wouldn't miss the bride's entrance.

* * *

When the ceremony was finally over, Harry and Naomi congratulated the newly married couple and went to get on an old-fashioned double-decker bus that was going to take them to the hotel. Harry was very glad that he had convinced Naomi to get a cab to the church and leave the car parked by the hotel. Annabel was very busy taking pictures and talking to some guests, and Harry decided that it would be best to approach the girl later.

The journey to the hotel had been much more pleasant and calm than the one he had experienced earlier on. When they arrived at the hotel, Harry was very glad to see that some canapés were being served before the dinner.

"Harry, my boy, it's nice to see you here!"

An old woman whom Harry recognized to be Annabel's grandmother came in his direction bringing a man that he had never met before. The dark-haired man with big brown eyes had an extremely pretty face with a square chin and goat-style beard.

"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Morelli. Thank you so much for convincing the Durselys to let me come here today. It has been a very nice week."

"You're very welcome. Who is this young lady friend of yours?"

"I'm Naomi. I'm just covering for Lauren, who was feeling a bit ill today," Naomi decided to take the lead and introduce herself.

"Oh, poor thing! I really like that girl. Hope she is better soon. I'm Dorothy, Annabel's grandmother, and this is Lucca, my son and her father."

Harry had never met the man before, though he had heard quite a lot about him through Annabel's letters, so much so that he felt like he already knew the man in front of him. He knew the man had grown up in Sicily and was quite proud of his Italian heritage, even though he was technically half-English as well. Harry also knew that he lived in the United States and had quite the fame of being a _'Don Juan'_.

"Lucca, this is Harry. Harry is Annabel's little boyfriend," Mrs. Morelli said casually.

"Boyfriend? Why does she need a boyfriend? She's only a child!" Lucca gave Harry an accusing glare.

"BABBO!" Luckily for Harry, Annabel came running at that exact time and gave her father a very tight hug. "I missed you so much!"

"Bel, _mia bambina_, I missed you too!" he said, returning the hug and kissing her forehead. "Your grandmother is talking nonsense. She told me that this _ragazzo_ is your boyfriend," he said, pointing his finger at Harry. "Please tell to your _babbo_ that she is getting old and does not understand things very well anymore."

"You're actually right, _Babbo._ Harry is not my boyfriend." Her father sighed in relief while Harry raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "He is more like a friend with benefits."

"WHAT?!" Lucca and Harry exclaimed at the same time for two very different reasons.

"I'LL CUT YOUR BALLS, YOU BASTARD!" Harry felt his hands unconsciously reach for his wand when he saw the strongman going into his direction, but Annabel and Naomi put themselves in front of Harry in order to avoid the boy from receiving a punch in the face.

"Look, don't get mad at him because it was completely my idea. I think that if it was up to him, we probably would be marrying today. But the last thing I want in my life is to have to be in a square relationship. I'd much rather enjoy the pleasures of an open relationship." Harry didn't like any of the things he heard her say; however, it was clear that her father disliked it even more than he did.

"Have you lost your mind? Do you want people to think that you are a slut? Who is the one who put those ideas in your head?" he asked angrily.

Annabel was about to answer him when she was interrupted by her mother.

"_Annabel Dorothy Morelli_, I can't believe that you invited _this man_ to my wedding!" Helen exclaimed, pointing to Annabel's father, ignoring the fact that he was in front of her and could hear everything she was saying.

"This man has a name," Lucca answered her dryly.

"You shut your mouth because our talk hasn't reached you yet," the new Mrs. Harrison answered sharply.

"You want me to shut my mouth? How can I do that if you ignore the fact that we had a daughter together?" he answered equally sharply.

"Both of you control yourselves! Can you two at least pretend to be civilized for one day? Today is a day for celebration, not for arguments!" Dorothy Morelli whispered to her son and to her ex-daughter-in-law, trying to bring them to reason.

"You are right. The last thing I want is to ruin my day with silly arguments. So Annabel, my love, why did you invite your father, Lucca, to my wedding?" Helen tried to ask politely.

"Maybe if you had bothered to read the copy of the guest list I sent to your e-mail, you could have had a say in who is here and who isn't," Annabel answered dryly.

"IT'S YOU, ISN'T IT? It's you who is putting these ideas in our daughter's head, isn't it? She just told me that she and this boy are friends with benefits!"

"Really? Did she tell you that?" Helen asked curiously. "I personally believed that what these two had was much more serious than a casual thing, but if that's what they've decided, I'm completely fine with that. As long they use contraception…"

"ARE YOU INSANE? SHE IS ONLY FOURTEEN! SHE SHOULD BE PLAYING WITH DOLLS, NOT USING CONTRACEPTION!" he shouted at the bride.

Everyone in the salon was looking at them. Annabel looked like she wanted to bury her face in the ground. Harry, though, wasn't feeling any embarrassment at all. He was too busy feeling angry with Bel to give room to any other feeling in his heart.

For a long moment, everything was in total silence. The only noise was from the birds singing in the trees.

"GET OUT!" Helen suddenly took her wedding bouquet and started to slap her ex with it. "GET OUT! GET-OUT-OF-MY-WEDDING NOW!"

Harry's jaw dropped in shock while he watched the whole scene. Naomi looked equally stunned. Dorothy just started shaking her head and tutting in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. Annabel looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING?" Annabel shouted to her parents – more to her mother than to her father – and went running away.

"Bel, come back…" Helen started to take off after the angry girl.

"Leave it." Dorothy tapped Helen's shoulders to stop her from following her daughter. "You too." Dorothy gave a sharp glare to her son.

"And you, boy; what are you waiting for?" Harry felt surprised to see his old neighbor talking to him.

"Do you mean me?" Harry asked unsure.

"Of course I mean you. Who else do you think she going to listen to?"

* * *

It didn't take long for Harry to find Annabel. She had left the hotel and was sitting by the Regent Canal; she had taken off her shoes and had both her feet in the water. The tears were coming down her face and her breathing was punctuated by sobs. Harry felt very lost. He had never calmed down someone like this before.

"Um… hi."

She looked at him, but she didn't say anything.

"Would you mind if I sat down here?"

She shook her head. She was still crying and sobbing a lot.

Harry took off his shoes and socks, folded his trousers up to his knees and sat down with his feet in the water, the same way she had done.

"So… do you want to talk about it?" he asked, unsure of what else he could do.

Instead of answering him, Annabel just leaned her head onto his shoulders and started to cry even louder. Harry wasn't sure what he was doing wrong for her to increase the intensity of her cry. He wanted her to feel better, not worse.

No one else was there apart from them, a little boy and girl who were playing with a kite, and the ducks swimming down the lake. Harry decided to stroke her hair, which was still up and braided.

"Even when you're crying, you're pretty. How can you do that!?" Harry said without thinking, and Bel gave him a weak smile.

"Why… why… why do th-they al-ways h-have to be arguing?" she asked in the middle of her sobs. "The-they were al-ways like th-at. All my me-memories of them to-together are about them fighting."

Harry didn't know what to say. His only memory of his parents was when they were being murdered by Voldemort, and that wasn't exactly the merriest of thoughts. However, even though her family problems weren't nearly as big as the ones he had, now he finally understood that being her wasn't as simple as he used to imagine.

"You must be thinking that I'm very silly," she told him after taking a long breath. "I'm here complaining about my parents, and you never even had the chance to meet yours!" Bel said, as if she could read his thoughts.

"I don't think you are being silly." He took his pocket square from his pockets and offered for her to dry her tears. "It was like your mother was expecting this to happen…"

This clearly wasn't the right thing for him to say because she started to cry again immediately after he said it.

"W-why is she-she al-ways so mean to him?"

"He wasn't being a perfect gentleman, was he? He is the one who started to scream."

"But she started the fight!" Annabel answered angrily. "Why did I invite him to her wedding? Well, he is my father! That on its own should be reason enough!"

"I see your point. But I don't think that it's a good thing to be taking sides when they have a row like this. I mean, when my friends Ron and Hermione have their arguments I always try to stay as neutral as possible. Arguing with them is only going to stress you out more. Maybe you should try doing the same?"

"You say it as if it's easy to ignore. You saw how they are. Another thing that is making me super angry is that they just managed to destroy the party that I've planned with so much care! Now everything is ruined!"

"I'm sure the party is still going on! And we are here missing everything. Would you like to go back with me?"

"And see all those people? After my father shouted in front of everyone how I should be playing with dolls instead of thinking about contraception? Thank you, but no thank you!"

Harry knew too well how it was to face a crowd who were hating, fearing, or simply gossiping about his life, and he couldn't really blame her for wanting to avoiding going back to the salon. The only thing that made it bearable for Harry was having Ron and Hermione by his side during all those hard times.

"I'll be there with you, holding your hand and showing them all that we don't give a shit about what they say."

"Aw, Harry, you couldn't be more perfect, could you?" she said, hugging him tightly and giving him a soft kiss on his lips.

They took their feet out the water and waited for them to dry a little bit, which didn't take long. Once both of them had their shoes on and were up, Harry offered his arm to Annabel to hold.

"Shall we go, _my dahling_?" Harry asked in a faked posh accent.

"Sure, _my dahling_."

* * *

When they finally got back to the hotel, they found out that the wedding dinner had already started to be served. Because of this, it wasn't very surprising when the whispers of gossip started to occur as soon as they entered the banquet room.

Harry noticed that even after the scene earlier, Annabel's father was still present in the room, seated next to the girl's grandmother. Her mother gave him a smile when they walked near her. The table that they were supposed to be sitting at had three chairs vacant, and all the others were filled by people around their age. Harry was surprised when he realised that he knew everyone who was sitting there except one guy that was seated on Annabel's left – Harry was sitting on her right. The chair on Harry's other side was empty, but the name in front of it indicated that it should be occupied by Naomi.

"Harry, I want you to meet Matt; he is Geoffrey's cousin and also a very good friend of mine. We go to school together; we are usually dance partners in our classes!"

"Harry, the owl guy! I can't believe that I'm finally meeting you!" he said, offering his hand for Harry to shake. "You are quite famous at our school; did you know that? Almost a celebrity."

After hearing this, Harry unconsciously placed his hand to his forehead in order to try to cover his scar.

"Why would I be famous at a ballet school? If there is one thing I'm sure I can't do, it is dance."

"I'm sure you can! Bells is a great teacher; I'm sure she would love to give you some private lessons one day." He winked at Annabel, who laughed at his comment. "Anyway, you sent Bells that red rose in the beak of that beautiful white owl on Valentine's Day, which arrived just when the whole school was having lunch, and you're still asking me why you're famous?"

"Excuse my absence folks," Naomi said, sitting down at her place. Only then did Harry notice that she was the only adult sitting at their table. "I had an emergency issue in the loo that I had to attend to. So, what did I miss?"

"Starters," Geoffrey told her with a grin, "but don't worry. It wasn't that great. And I believe you're here for the best part anyway: _'The rise of Annabel, our new porn star!'"_

Harry stood up immediately and gave Geoffrey a deadly look.

"Take it back," Harry said, trying to contain his rage.

Naomi stood up so abruptly from her seat that her chair fell to the ground. Ignoring the fact that every head in the hall turned to look at her, she stood in front of Harry.

"Harry, you need to calm down!"

"**Take-it-back**!" Harry said, even more furiously.

"Look at me!" Naomi demanded placing both of her hands on Harry's shoulders and forcing the boy to look her in the eyes. "He is not worth it. Just chill out!"

Slowly Harry let his body to fall on his chair once again. He drank a whole glass of water as if it would help cool down his nerves, which were screaming for him to curse the muggle boy to death.

"Good boy, Harry. Well done," Naomi said, giving him some comforting taps on his shoulder.

* * *

The rest of the dinner went down much more smoothly. However, there was one little thing that was making Harry feel extremely uncomfortable, and surprisingly it wasn't Annabel's new step-brother. The way that Matt and Annabel were behaving was really getting on his nerves. The boy would whisper things in her ear that would make her giggle; he also touched her hands and arms with a lot of intimacy. The boy had even hugged her and kissed her cheeks!

After the whole drama involving her parents, Harry had completely forgotten that Annabel had told her father that he was nothing more than a 'friend with benefits' for her. What was she playing at? Didn't she like him enough to be his girlfriend? Or did she have other 'boyfriends' and want to keep them all? Would this 'Matt' be one of these supposed boyfriends?

"You really like her, don't you?" Naomi asked him in a whisper.

"More than I would dare to admit," Harry sighed resignedly.

"You are jealous of him, aren't you?" Naomi asked, indicating to Matt with her eyes. "Don't worry. He is not a match for you."

* * *

After everyone had filled their bellies with the dinner, after all the speeches and toasts had been done, and after the cake had been cut and the newly wedded couple performed their first dance, the time that Harry was dreading the most finally arrived.

"Hey Harry, do you wanna dance?" Bel asked, already grabbing his hands without waiting for an answer.

"Huh… sure."

When they arrived on the dance floor, he placed his hands on her waist in a clumsy way.

"Oh, you really never have danced before, have you?"

Harry shook his head, feeling very embarrassed.

"You should have told me earlier! We could have practiced! But don't worry; it's very easy. I'll teach you some basic steps," she said, placing one of his hands on her waist and holding the other one.

"Now, hold my hands and look at my feet. I want you to mirror my steps: 1, 2, 3 – 1, 2, 3 – 1, 2, 3 – 1, 2, 3…"

Harry did it without any trouble.

"Well done, Harry! Now I'm going to demonstrate how to swap for different footwork. Pay attention to my feet."

Matthew hadn't lied when he told him that Annabel was a very good teacher. In a half an hour, she had managed to demonstrate how to do a very good number of steps. But he hadn't passed the final test yet.

"Now, let's see if you can lead me!" she said with a grin. "Don't forget to follow the rhythm of the song."

Harry decided to start with the first set of footwork she had shown him. After that, he got her hands and placed one by his neck while he held the other one.

"Very good, Harry! Now, can you remember how to swap places with me?"

Instead of answering her, he performed the movement, and it made her lips open wide in a big smile.

"You are a natural! Now, do something that I am not expecting."

Harry performed a half turn and gave her a soft kiss on her lips before completing the movement.

"I wasn't expecting that." She gave him a silly grin, and Harry turned her back to the basic position.

However, just after that song finished, Matt approached them and gave them an imploring look.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you little love birds, but would you mind if I have a go with my favourite dance partner?" Matt asked Harry.

"Oh, Harry, please, would you mind?" Annabel also gave Harry a begging look.

"Sure…" he answered with what he thought to be a reassuring smile.

While waiting, he grabbed an orange juice and sat at an empty table to watch Bel dancing with the boy. Harry didn't know anything at all about dancing, but he could see why that bloke had been accepted to what Annabel claimed to be one of the top ballet schools in the world. A small crowd quickly appeared to watch the couple's performance.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and they danced with passion. When the song was finished, she didn't come back. They danced another song, and another song, and another song. No matter the rhythm,that was playing, they were perfect together. Harry felt his heart sink as he couldn't see how he was going ever be able to compete with someone that was so damn good doing the thing that she loved the most.

"Enjoying your sour grapes?" Geoffrey said sarcastically, sitting by his side.

"Bugger off, Geoff!"

"Let me give you one word of advice: she is not the girl for you. Sooner or later, she'll break your heart."

"I don't think that I requested your opinion."

"She is not a woman for only one man. Once a whore, always a whore."

"Watch your mouth, boy! That is not how you should talk about a girl who is now your sister!" Naomi chose that exact second to appear as if she could sniff potential trouble.

"She is not my sister! She is just the daughter of the woman who happens to occasionally hook up with my father."

"You are in such a big trouble, young man! Wait and see. I'll make sure you don't see the light of day until your parents return from their honeymoon!" Naomi told him off furiously.

"Who do you think you are to tell me off like that? Let my father hear about this… servants should know their place."

Naomi gave Geoff a mortal glare.

"I'm the one who is going to make sure to make your life a hell tomorrow. Now get out of sight!" She looked like she would kill him if he dared not to move.

"Is he always a jerk like that?" Naomi asked Harry, sitting next to him.

"Only when he's breathing," Harry answered sympathetically.

"I've never been to such a dramatic wedding in my whole life. What a complicated family your girlfriend has!"

"She is not my girlfriend, remember? You heard what she said earlier." Harry sighed defeatedly while watching the couple who were dancing what seemed to be one of those Latin American rhythms she had told him about where they performed extremely sexy movements.

This sight made him feel even more grumpy and annoyed with the girl. He couldn't wait to be picked up by the Weasleys the next day after all; just the thought of sleeping one more night beneath the same roof as she did was unbearable enough.

Harry sighed. He felt like his first official date with Annabel had been a complete fiasco.

* * *

**A/N****1****: I know, I know that the Weasleys' invitation should arrive later that day, but can we just pretend that Harry got and answered Ron's letter the day before? The morning before 'the' kiss… ;D.**

**Please R&R? **


	8. Restrarting

Almost three months had passed since Annabel had found her old aunt's bracelet and realised that Harry wasn't going to come back. It was still very hard to think about the wizard, but Holly kept her busy and gave her all the strength she needed to carry on. Meanwhile, her financial situation was still complicated. Apparently, Geoff's father had had a business partner who had used their company for money laundering and had fled the country not long ago.

The debts with the suppliers had forced Geoffrey to declare his company bankrupt. Luckily for Annabel, her mother had made a very clever prenuptial agreement which separated her possessions from her husband's very clearly. Because of this, Annabel wasn't bankrupt and had recovered her access to her bank accounts. However, despite this slight reprieve, her problem now was that no money was coming in, but every day money was coming out.

If she had understood a little bit of finance, maybe then she would have known how to invest her money more wisely. But at the moment, everything she was doing was eating up her mother's savings and investments. They would need to start to work soon if they didn't want to lose everything her family had.

Annabel was pushing Holly's buggy around the small square in front of her house, trying to think about jobs she could possibly do from home. She needed to find a way she could be able to take care of Holly and work at the same time. She was thinking about this when one of her neighbours came out to greet her and her daughter.

"Hi Annabel, how are you? How is your little girl doing?" asked a young slender woman while approaching them.

"We're good. She'll be six months next week. The time flies! How about you; what have you been up to?" Annabel answered politely.

"I've being trying to organize Kayla's birthday party. I've been so lost; there are so many things to think about! I remembered that you used to have best birthday parties ever! Tell me the secret. How did you do it?"

It was at this moment that Annabel had an idea.

"It's not very hard. I actively helped organize all my parties from a very young age. Even my mother's wedding was basically organized by me. I'm currently starting an event planning and catering business. If you want, I would love to give you a hand." Annabel heard the words coming out her mouth before she could think about them.

"Really? That sounds perfect! Would you really do this for me?" The woman really looked happy with the offer.

"Of course! And we've known each other for such a long time, and my business is really just starting, so I am sure I can offer you a very nice deal."

"Annabel, you're an angel. Why don't you come into my house for a cup of tea? My Kayla has a lot of requests and ideas that we need to discuss," the woman said, pointing to her house.

Annabel was ecstatic. She had a client! Now all she needed to do was officially start her company.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve at the Burrow, and Harry was alone in the garden, sitting down on a bench while watching two gnomes making their way out of the snow. He wasn't very surprised when Ginny sat down next to him.

"Please, don't leave. I have a feeling that you have been trying to avoid me since I came back from Hogwarts," Ginny stated.

She was right. Harry was trying hard to avoid the youngest Weasley. They had briefly dated for a couple of weeks in the end of his sixth year, just before the war exploded. She was a nice woman, and Harry didn't want to hurt her feelings. He knew that she still liked him, but his head was focused on Annabel.

It was ironic how much easier it had been for him to get over the muggle girl the first time when he had believed that she had been unfaithful to him. That time, he was very angry with Annabel, and it was so easy to feel for Ginny! But now that he knew that Bel was with Geoffrey and that they were going to get married, it was much harder to get over her.

Maybe it was because he felt that this time he was the one who had abandoned her in his quest to kill Voldemort; he was the one who had signed the end of their un-started relationship. Didn't he explicitly ask Annabel to go and live her life and forget about him after that night?

_But she promised to wait_. The bitter thought crept in continuously.

Maybe the fact that she now had a daughter and was going to tie the knot made everything seem much more permanent and impossible to go back to.

"I'm sorry if I gave you that impression," Harry said tiredly.

"It wasn't an impression," she said, crossing her arms. "Are you going to deny that you leave the room every time I am left alone with you?"

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I just don't want hurt you."

"But that's exactly what you are doing. Or do you think that I don't feel hurt by the way you are treating me?" she raised one eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, but I…"

"I don't want you to be sorry! I want you to move on. Don't you think it's time, Harry?"

"Time for what?"

"Time for this."

Before Harry could do anything about it, Ginny pressed her lips against his and embraced him in a passionate kiss.

"This is what I was trying so hard to avoid, you see?" Harry said, pushing her away from him.

"Harry, please don't punish yourself for things that are out of your control. I'm here, and you're here. And we deserve to be happy."

"Ginny… it's not that simple."

"Why not?" she said, touching his hair in an affectionate way.

"Things have happened. I am a different man from the boy you dated a year and a half ago. I have many more scars, most of which you can't see."

"And do you think I'm the same girl? This war didn't change only you, Mr. Potter. Don't be so vain," she said, moving away from him a bit.

"I'm not saying that…"

"Please give yourself a chance to be happy. Please help me try to be the one to make you happy."

"Ginny, I don't think it would be right."

"Why wouldn't it be right?"

Harry stopped for few seconds while he thought about how much he should share with her.

"I'm in love with another girl, Ginny."

"Oh… right. This wasn't what I was expecting," she said awkwardly.

"Do you understand now why I say that I don't want to hurt you?"

"Yes. I think that I've never been turned down so badly before in my life. So, does your girlfriend work in the Ministry?"

"No, sadly she is not my girlfriend."

"She doesn't know you have feelings for her then?"

"Actually, she does know. But she is going to get married to another guy sometime soon."

For the first time, Harry had said it out loud for someone else to hear.

"Oh, Harry! It sounds awful!" Ginny bit her lips.

"It's actually worse than it sounds. All I want is to take her out of my mind, but it feels like someone has glued her image inside my head! I wish more than anything that I could forget her and feel for you again… but it's been so hard to get over it!"

"This girl… she is so silly!" Ginny said defeated.

Harry wasn't sure why he had decided share his feelings with Ginny. He thought that he probably had never looked so miserable. He could feel tears threatening to fall, but he wouldn't let them escape. Ginny hugged him, and slowly, he hugged her back. She started to kiss him again. This time, when Harry was about to stop it, he decided that he was enjoying her touch and started to respond to her kiss.

"Harry… let me help you to forget her," she asked in a whisper.

"I can't do this to you. I can't use you to forget another girl. This is just not right!"

"I am the one who is asking… _begging_, for you to do it."

"Ginny… and if it doesn't work? I don't want to disappoint you."

"We'll only know if it's going to work if we try."

"But…" Harry tried to protest, but Ginny placed her hands on his lips.

"I know the risks, and I want to take them."

She kissed him again with even more passion. Harry returned her kiss and decided that he would do everything possible in order for his relationship with Ginny to work out.

* * *

**September 1999 or more than one year after Hogwarts Battle**

Annabel looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was her wedding day. She remembered when she saw her mother also wearing a bridal gown, looking at the same old mirror that she was looking at now. At that time, if somebody had told her that she would end up getting married only five years after her mother, she would have laughed. If someone had told her that her husband to be would be Geoffrey, she probably would have suggested that whoever had said that had serious mental problems. Yet there she was, dressed like a bride, ready to walk down the aisle and make promises of eternal love to _him_.

A very handsome curly, dark-haired man that Annabel recognized to be her father entered the room.

"_Mia bambina_, all grown up! It feels like it was yesterday that I was carrying you in my arms. Now look at you, _una bella donna_!" he said, kissing his daughter's forehead. "You are looking so much like your mother when we got married. I remember it just like it was yesterday. She was glowing, like a fairytale _principessa. _I know that your mother and I had our differences, but she has always been my _favourtite_ – please don't tell that to my other's wives. It's a real shame that Helen can't be here with us today."

"_Babbo_!" Annabel said, hugging her father. She knew that it would be hard not to cry today. And she didn't even want to think about the wedding speeches.

"Does this Geoffrey guy make you happy?"

She stopped for a moment before answering her father.

"We made a great team. He is amazing really."

"But does he make you happy? Does he make your heart beat fast? Do you love him? There is nothing more important for a father than to know that his children are happy."

Annabel was thinking about how to answer his question when Jess rushed inside carrying Holly in her arms.

"Hi! Look who came here to say hello to Mummy! It's the flower girl!"

"Hey, gorgeous! Look at you! You are looking so pretty in your new dress," Annabel said, getting closer to where they were.

"Mummy!" Holly said, while she inclined to be picked up by her mother.

"Bel, Lucca, the cars are here. It's time for us to go to the church."

Glad to have a nice excuse to escape her father's questioning, Bel held her little girl and led everybody to the cars.

Did Geoffrey make her happy? Yes, she guessed he did. It was nice and comforting knowing that he always would be there for her, no matter what happened.

Did he make her heart beat fast? No, definitely not. They had no chemistry together.

Did she love him? That was a difficult one. She loved him as friend, as a partner, as a brother. She tried to see him with other eyes – romantic eyes – but it wasn't very simple. She only hoped that with the loving care of her husband-to-be, she would be able to build stronger feelings for him.

**A/N - Please review? Or despite my personal hate with this chapter I might assume that you are happy for this be my final ending? Thankxx**


	9. Comings and goings

**A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter; I went for a holiday next week... thank you very very much for all those who decided to follow and favourite this one. Hope you enjoy this chapter. And thank you very much for my beta Litfreak89, who was kind enough to go through this chapter three times with me, because my perfectionism tendencies made me re-write it more than once ¬¬ . **

**This is a chapter from the past btw ;-)**

At just past eleven o'clock in the evening, Naomi got Harry, Annabel and Geoffrey in the car and drove them back the girl's home. Harry was very surprised to see that this time, Naomi's driving skills were incredibly perfect. He was about to ask the woman what she had done to improve them so much, but Bel chose that exact second to make a comment.

"Thank you so much for convincing me to go back to the party, Harry! I had so much fun!" she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Harry didn't answer her. He was still very disappointed with the muggle girl and her attitude towards him. Even though she had invited him to be her date to the wedding, the girl had spent half the evening ignoring him while she danced with another boy. The fact that she had done this immediately after publicly saying that, for her, he was nothing more than a friend with benefits just made him feel that much worse about the situation. He knew that he would need to talk about everything with her before he left for the Weasleys' the next morning, but this was neither the time nor the place for that sort of talk.

When they finally got home, Naomi showed everyone that her threats to give Geoffrey a hard time weren't empty. As soon as they got back, she made sure to lock him in his room to let him think about the things he had said earlier.

"You two should probably go to bed as well," she said, looking at Harry and Annabel. "It has been a busy day; I think we all agree on that. I probably should go and check on Lauren. She's been alone all day…"

Harry showered, turned his room's light off, and was about to tuck himself under his duvet when someone else invaded his room.

"As you snuck into my room yesterday, I felt that it would be only fair for me to return the favour, right?" Annabel asked with a cheeky smile on her lips while trying to hug Harry, but he walked away from her.

"Harry, what's up?"

"You tell me what's up Bel. What you told your father… me being your 'friend with benefits'… would you care to explain to me what exactly you meant by that?"

"Oh, that? Well, the way I see it is that we're friends who like to snog each other sometimes."

"And you don't consider yourself to be my girlfriend?"

"A girlfriend implies commitment, right? I told you before that I don't like the idea of having a typical relationship!"

"It was hard for me to get it when you said it, but now I think that the penny finally has dropped." Harry groaned and sat on his bed. "So you basically want to be in an '_open relationship_' so you can go and snog other boys. Is that right?" Harry asked with anger.

"That's one of the reasons I like it, yes. But it does work in both ways! It leaves you free to go and snog every single girl in that school in Scotland of yours. I've always thought that having a relationship like this would be any boy's dream…"

"So, is that guy Matt your friend with benefits too?" Harry asked angrily.

"Me and Matthew Harrison together? Really?" Annabel laughed at the thought of this idea. "You would see me marry Geoffrey before you'd see that happening! Seriously, there is absolutely nothing between us. He is like my little brother, my dancing soul mate, my personal sentimental advisor, but he is not someone with whom I would ever have something like what we're having." She sat down on his bed and held his hand. "That reminds me; you should really thank him because if he hadn't told me to do so, I would never have told you how I feel about you."

"And how _exactly_ do you feel about me?" Harry looked into her big doll eyes and asked in a very serious tone.

She looked back at him, completely lost in the deep vastness of the green oceans that he called his eyes.

"I feel like… I wish that summers would never end so we could be always together because when I am around you, I know that everything is going to be okay because your presence brings me peace. And it's such a strong feeling that I am scared of it… so scared that it make me almost wish that I didn't feel the way I do about you… because it's bigger than me, and I feel like I'm not in control of myself anymore, and I don't like to feel something that I can't control. It's like a drug that gives pain and relief at the same time. And it almost feels like…" She closed her eyes and a single tear dropped down from her eyes.

He knew that she had spoken with all her heart.

Harry pulled her to him gently and into a soft, slow kiss. It felt like their souls had connected, that their whole lives had led to them sharing this very moment. It felt right: he belonged to her, and she belonged to him. At that moment, he knew that taking her out of his life would be as hard as cutting a piece of his own body away because she was a part of him.

"If you like me as much as you're saying…" Harry started to say while their foreheads where touching one another, "why can't you just be my girlfriend?"

Annabel closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest. She let another insistent tear fall from her eye.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you that. Please, don't insist on it because saying 'no' to you will break my heart."

Harry stopped for a moment, thinking about what she had said. It still didn't make any sense.

"Okay. I promise I won't ask you this again. But can you at least try to explain to me why you are so against the idea of being my girlfriend?"

"I'm not ready for this. I feel like you're the right guy who appeared at the wrong time. First of all, we are way too young to have such a commitment. Secondly, you spend most of the year stuck in Scotland, and even if you weren't, my career is always going to be my top priority."

"I'm sure we could work around those two things…" Harry tried to insist once more.

"No Harry, we couldn't. It would end up destroying this entire magical thing we have," she said decisively. "Next year is going to be my last year at my current school, and I plan to apply to carry on my education at some foreign dance companies after that. I just can't see how we would manage to maintain a serious relationship like this. Besides… you're the only boy I have been with so far, and I would like to experience some of the other 'fish in the sea,' if you will, and I think you should do the same."

"I don't like this idea. Just the thought of another guy doing to you the same things I am doing makes me..." Harry closed his fists in anger.

"Just don't think about it, okay? Enjoy the moment we are having now because you're going to go to your friend's house tomorrow… and then we'll have to wait for an entire year to be together again." After she said this, she pressed her lips against his.

"Is there anything I could do to persuade you to change your mind about this?" Harry whispered on her ear.

"Maybe another time, but now I can't give you what you want; it doesn't mean that I want you any less."

They exchanged a couple of mushy kisses before Annabel decided that was time to go back to her own room, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

It wasn't long after breakfast when Arthur and his two oldest sons, Bill and Charlie, arrived to pick Harry up and take him to the Burrow. Annabel volunteered to help Harry to take his case downstairs so that they could stay together for a few moments more.

"I'll be counting the seconds to next July," she said just after their last kiss.

Harry and the Weasleys went by car to Diagon Ally where Harry was able to Floo to the Burrow.

"Harry!" A bushy-haired girl hugged him as soon as he landed in the Weasleys' living room.

"Gosh Hermione, let him breathe!" Ron said, giving a tap on the shoulder of his best mate. "How did the wedding go, Harry?"

"It was all right. A little bit of drama involving Annabel's parents, but they sorted it out in the end…"

"So… are you guys officially together now?" Ron asked him curiously.

"No. She didn't want that."

"What do you mean by _she_ didn't want that, Harry?" Hermione asked, intrigued.

"Let's put my school trunk upstairs," Harry suggested, and both of his friends understood that he wanted some privacy.

* * *

Four months had passed since the morning that Annabel had said goodbye to Harry the day after her mother's wedding. Now, something was taking her sleep, and it wasn't the fact that her teachers were going to be announcing on the next day the name of the students who were going to do an internship at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg. The one responsible for her sleepless nights had been none other than the messy dark-haired boy with sparkling green eyes.

Since she had answered her last letter to him at the beginning of October, two months had passed, and he hadn't sent another letter to her – not even a short message to wish her a happy birthday! During his previous years, the boy would always write no later than two weeks after receiving her letters. Now, they were heading into the middle of December, and it felt like the boy had completely forgotten about her existence.

She looked to the lake through the window from the common room; it was a moonless night, and she could see a lonely deer and stag couple drinking the lake's water together. These wild animals were regular residents of the Richmond Park where her school was located. She observed the caress exchanged by the animals, and the hole in her heart caused by the absence of _him_ seemed to increase even more.

"You're up after curfew, Bells… you naughty girl!" She jumped and turned, seeing one of her best friends approaching her.

"Matt! You scared the shit out me! What are you doing up after curfew?"

"I went to see my _petitchou_! How about you? Did you decide to stop acting like the widow of a living husband?" Matt asked sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, very funny," she said with a glare that showed that she believed his question had been anything but funny.

"Well, am I wrong? Last Saturday when we went out to that Cuban place, you brushed off that Bolivian guy, and he was extremely hot… and a very good dancer, if I remember correctly. If I had been you, I would have totally done him."

"But you are not me. And he was so boring! He wouldn't stop saying things like, _'Oh, you are so pretty,' 'Oh, your eyes are so beautiful,' 'Oh, your smile is amazing_._'_ I mean, how less original can you be?"

"What the hell did you want him to talk about? Quantum physics? And it's not like you're wanting anything more than a good time out of the guy. What's the point in having an open relationship with the owl guy if you don't even enjoy it?"

"Oh, don't you start…"

"Why did you want an open relationship anyway? Now you've just scared the poor boy away by your fear of commitment. Why would you do that if all you're going to do is cry in the corner because he hasn't written to you yet?"

"I'm not crying."

"You're just here thinking about him all of the time."

"Matthew…" She gave him a warning glare.

"Okay, okay. But can you just promise me one thing? If we get to go to Russia together, we are going to whore around St. Petersburg together. Deal?"

"Matthew…"

"Deal?"

"Okay, fine! Deal! I doubt I will get to go there anyway. But I'm sure you're going to be selected."

"I think you might be surprised. I think you have improved considerably over the last few weeks. Anyway, Bells, it's getting really late. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, and we should really go to bed."

* * *

As Annabel had anticipated, Matthew Harrison had been one of the students picked for the internship. However, it was with astonished happiness that she found out that she was also going to be one of the lucky students who had been picked to spend the next five months at the Vaganova Academy. She was very excited about getting to be known at another world famous ballet school.

Now it was a week before Christmas, and she was resigned to stay at home for the next three weeks before she, Matt, and the other lucky few students would embark to St. Petersburg where they were due to arrive just after the Russian New Year celebration.

It was ten past eleven in the evening, and she was alone on her room doing some stretching exercises with the help of her ballet bar when a noise from a beak knocking on her window made her heart momentarily stop beating.

It wasn't Hedwig, but another, unfamiliar brown owl, who had brought her a message tied around her leg. It was another brown owl she had never seen before. The unfamiliar owl landed on her desk and looked much more tired from the journey than Hedwig usually looked. Before reading his letter, Annabel quickly opened one of her drawers and gave the bird some treats that she had bought for this purpose.

"_My dear Bel,_

_I'm very sorry for not writing you earlier. But things out of my control has happened here at my school. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the reason I've been so busy, but you must believe that certain things have happened, and now we need to keep a certain distance from each other. _

_Don't think that I'm happy with this, because I'm not; but my godfather said that while we can't be sure it's safe for us to write again, we should avoid doing it. What I can tell you is that I've been extremely busy and that the tournament I mentioned to you in my last letter has started, and now my school is full of foreign students. _

_Yesterday I was told that we are going to have a ball here on Christmas Day. Lots of girls are asking me to be their date at the ball – only because I'm part of the school football team. However, what I really wanted was to invite you to be my date to this ball, but Professor McGonagall told me that it was completely out of the question._

_I was advised by my godfather to avoid sending letters to you as myself. So, from now on I need you to address the letters you send to me to a girl named Hermione Granger. The owl will deliver it to her, and Hermione will deliver it to me. Please, send back your answer to her instead of me. It's just a security measure._

_I'm sorry for missing your birthday. I bought you a present, but I was told that we also should avoid sending each other big packages, as this makes it easier for the owls to be intercepted. I promise to make up for it when we are together again._

_With all my love"_

Harry didn't sign the letter, but she recognized his handwriting – and who else did she know would send letters with an owl, anyway? Still, he didn't send it by Hedwig. She turned the letter to the other side trying to find any other clue about what he had just said, but it was completely blank.

What the hell was he talking about? Security measures? Why did he need any security measures at all? Why would they need to keep any distance from each other? Why couldn't he be straightforward for once in his life and tell her something without playing word games with her?

Annabel bit her lip. Something in this last letter hadn't sounded right, and she was going to find out what it was, even if she had to squeeze the truth out of him.

* * *

_"Harry,_

_What is happening? Why would we need security measures? Why are you leaving me in the dark like this? Are you trying to hide our messages from someone in your school? Can you just be honest about it for once in your life?_

_By the way, if you want to write me next year, I'm going to be doing an internship at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg. My friend Matt is also coming, which is always a plus! _

_I hope you have a nice date at your school's ball. I'm looking to hearing about it. Remember that I'm not your girlfriend, so there is no need to keep things like that from me._

_I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!_

_Lots of love,_

_Bel"_

Harry sighed after reading the letter that had just been delivered by Hermione. With the letter, the girl had also sent him a couple of pictures of them together at her mother's wedding. The Gryffindor common room was deserted except for the trio.

"Is this her?" Ron asked, pointing to the pictures.

"Yeah."

"Can I see them?" Ron stretched his hand, and Harry passed him the pictures. Hermione closed her book and examined the picture over Ron's shoulder. "Wow mate, not bad at all. It's a shame McGonagall wouldn't let you invite her to the ball. She would be a perfect date!"

Harry nodded his head and looked at the wood burning in the fireplace. He had hoped that Annabel's letter would fill his heart with that warm feeling he usually got every time he read her letters, but this time, it only made him feel worse. Why didn't she understand that it wasn't his fault that he needed to keep things from her? Nor it was his fault that some lunatic had been after his blood since he was a baby. But of course, Annabel didn't know that, and keeping her in the dark was frustrating not only for her, but for him as well.

* * *

_"Bel,_

_I'm sorry, but I can't answer your questions. I can only say that I'm doing this because I want to protect you. Also, please avoid writing my name on the letters you send me. _

_I hope you are having a nice time in Russia. We have some students from Bulgaria and France here in our school because of the tournament, and it's been nice interacting with them._

_I've been very busy doing some research in the library for an extracurricular project that is taking all of my free time. I can't wait until this school year is finished!_

_Hope you have a nice week."_

February had already started when Annabel received that letter. She was so angry with him for so many different reasons! Firstly, she hadn't heard from him in ages! The last thing he had sent her was a Christmas present with no card.

Why didn't he at least let her know the reason why he needed to hide things from her? She guessed that he was most likely hiding her existence from another girl – maybe his date to that ball.

This thought made her heart sink even more – and not only from the fact that he might had fallen for another girl, but by the thought that he was hiding something like that from her. She decided that she needed to find another approach to make him open up to her.

* * *

Harry was in the library with Ron and Hermione trying to find a way that would allow Harry to breathe underwater in order for him to complete the second task. He was pretty much sure that they already had gone through half of the books in the library, and nothing seemed to have any tips on how to survive under the water.

"Harry! I almost forgot: I received this letter last night when I was at my dormitory. We should really put on a warming spell on the next owl we send to her; she looked like she would do well with one." Hermione handed him a blue envelope.

"Thanks!" Harry said, taking the letter and opening it instantly. It was a welcome excuse to have a break from their stressful research.

He quickly scanned her letter, and the more he read, the more he lowered his eyebrows in anger.

"What hell is she talking about?!" Harry grunted with full range. "Why is she telling me this?" He crumpled part of the letter and threw it into Hermione's lap. "Read it. See if you can understand what her problem is because I completely give up."

Hermione read the letter with Ron reading it from behind her.

"Bloody hell, mate! I think she is dumping you in a very nasty way," Ron said, shocked.

"Maybe," Hermione said thoughtfully, "but I don't believe this to be her intention."

"What are her intentions then? Because they're not very clear to me." Harry looked like he would curse the first one to appear in front of him.

"Well, isn't it obvious? She is talking about those Russian guys she has been going out with because she is trying to make Harry feel jealous."

"Why would she do that?" Harry asked, still very angry.

"Well, you used to write to her all the time during the other years, didn't you? Now you had to reduce the number of letters because of the tournament because of what Sirius said; because of the possible Death Eater here in our school who might want to kill you; and this strange way of you sending things through my name… maybe she is thinking that you are hiding her existence from someone else – a possible girlfriend, for example." Harry looked very offended.

"As I would find time to have a girlfriend right now!" Harry said sarcastically.

"Harry, I know! I'm not telling you that she is right, but I'm trying to make you understand how she might be feeling with all of this. It's only a guess, but maybe she might be thinking you are losing interest in her, so she wants to test you to see if you'll mind. You should ask her what her intentions were because this wasn't a very nice thing for her to do."

"Cheating on Harry… it's really a very beautiful way to say those things, isn't it, Hermione?" Ron decided to give his opinion.

"You are completely forgetting that they are in an open relationship, so she isn't _technically_ cheating on him. Though I know it's probably feeling a lot like it to Harry – I'm sorry, Harry."

"That's okay. Thank you for translating her _girl logic,_ Mione, I really appreciate it. The last thing I needed at this crucial moment was Annabel trying to play with my mental health like this," he said, leaning on the chair and crossing his arms in annoyance.

"Well… just remember that she doesn't actually know what you are going through with this tournament, Sirius …"

"I know, I know! If only I didn't like her so much… Everything would be much simpler."

* * *

When Annabel arrived at her dormitory on Thursday evening, she found an envelope made from the same parchment paper that Harry used.. For the first time, however, there was no owl around waiting for her to write an answer.

"_Dear Bel,_

_I can't translate to words how upset I was after reading your last letter. You know how I feel just imagining you with other boys. Why do you need to brag about this to me like that? _

_I know I haven't been answering your letters as quickly as I used to, but believe me when I tell you that I do have my reasons – and they are all very serious. If you can't handle it, maybe we should stop exchanging these letters. I miss you more than anything, but I need to focus all my energy on my problems at the moment. I know it's hard for you to understand what I can't explain, but I really can't handle any more stress at the moment. _

_Enjoy your internship. I hope to see you again during the summer."_

"Shit! What have I done?" Annabel couldn't stop the tears from dropping from falling after reading his answer.


	10. Dementors

**A/N: I was going to make this a '_present chapter_', but because of requests I end up making it another one from the _past_. Thank you very very much everybody who reviewed, followed, favourite, or has send me a MP. It really means a lot, and you all leave me with a huge smile for the rest of the day!**

It was Harry's second weekend in Little Whinging since the beginning of his summer holidays. The memories of the fateful day of Voldemort's return were still fresh on his mind: Cedric's body lying on the cold ground; Harry's blood being taken by Pettigrew; Voldemort emerging from the cauldron; his father telling him to take the portkey; Crouch, Jr. being a Death Eater in their school. These dark thoughts constantly haunted Harry.

Harry had been receiving the _Daily Prophet _every day, but Voldemort's return was being completely ignored. He had thought that because this was a paper that loved sensational news, his last meeting with the dark wizard would definitely have to be published sooner or later. Meanwhile, Harry had decided that paying attention to the muggle news could be beneficial in keeping track of the Dark Lord's movements throughout the country by watching for riots and other outbreaks.

Maybe it was because the Dursleys couldn't stand the fact that Harry was showing an interest in such a thing as _the news_ while Dudley probably had never read a newspaper article in his entire life, or maybe it was because they just liked to take any opportunity to annoy their nephew; whatever the reason, the fact was that Uncle Vernon had banned him from watching the TV news with them or from reading any muggle newspaper in the house.

This is how Harry found himself with both hands inside a rubbish bin located near the entrance of the local park when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Annabel's curious voice asked from what seemed to be few meters behind him.

Harry's heart stopped beating. He turned around and faced the muggle girl. Her hair was tied in a ballerina bun, and she was wearing a red jumper with her school logo on it. She was also shouldering a huge bag that looked far too big for her to carry. Harry felt a strong desire to run and hug her, to lift her up in the air and spin her around, but then he remembered that he was supposed to be angry with her. Why was he angry with her again? After all the things that had happened to him, he could barely remember it.

Apparently, though, Bel remembered. "Harry! I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have written you that... I was so silly, so insecure, so immature. I shouldn't have told you about those boys! Please forgive me! I'll do anything; I'll do all your chores for your aunt; I'll do all your homework. I'll do anything you want me to do; I'll be anything you want me to be! Please, just don't take me out of your life." She looked at him, begging him with her eyes.

He looked back, emotionless while examining her face for a while. Then he smiled. And then she smiled back, rushing to hug him.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked, raising one eyebrow after holding her in a tight embrace for a moment.

"Oh…maybe I should re-phrase what I said: I'll be anything you want me to be except that 'g' word; you know how much I hate that word."

Harry immediately took his arms from around her and turned his back to her.

"Harry, please! Don't walk away!" she begged as she followed Harry, who began walking away from her very quickly. "Fine!" Harry stopped walking away, but he didn't turn to look to her. She hugged him from behind and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Harry Potter… will you give me the honour of being my boyfriend? Don't you dare say no because this is the only time I'll ever consider this possibility."

Harry was smiling from ear to ear when he turned to face her again. He lifted her in the air, and they exchanged a very passionate kiss. Harry felt an enormous surge of adrenaline rush through his body. Then he thought back to facing Voldemort in the cemetery and how his greatest fear wasn't dying at the Dark Lord's hands; it was the thought of never being able to touch her face again; never being able to see her ice-melting smile or her gypsy brown eyes…or kissing her lips…or smelling the citrusy essence emanating from her body.

"Bel… I was so afraid that I would never be able to see you again," he said in a very low voice.

She smiled. "I was afraid that you wouldn't forgive me… I just… I can't even think about the possibility of not having you in my life. Don't ever consider the possibility of not writing me ever again. No matter what happens. I don't think I can bear it…"

He smiled. He couldn't remember being this happy in ages. Annabel was his girlfriend; who cared if Voldemort was back? Annabel had just asked him to be her boyfriend! They sat down on the grass, and they stayed there for hours, exchanging a couple of kisses and hugs. It was only when Annabel remembered that her grandmother was probably going to be worried about her delay that they decided to get her house.

"Let me help you carry you this," Harry said, pointing to the bag that was still on her shoulder.

"It's okay," she said, trying to avoid him, but he was already trying to take it from her.

"Come on. What kind of boyfriend do you think I am? Do you really think I'd watch you carry this heavy bag?"

"You just won't let me forget that you're my boyfriend, will you?" she asked, pretending to be annoyed.

"Never," he replied, giving her a quick peck on her lips. "So, how was Russia?" he asked, holding her hand before they started to walk towards her grandmother's house.

"Freezing cold. St. Petersburg is a very beautiful city... it's very artistic. I've made some good friends at the Vaganova Academy. One of them is coming to spend a few days with me in London, but it won't be until the end of August. I'm strongly considering applying to study there after I finally graduate next year. In addition to the Royal Ballet Upper School, I'm also considering some other schools in New York. I just think that it would be nice to stay a bit closer to my father for a change," she said, much more for herself than for him.

"I completely forgot that you will be finishing school next year. So, are you going to have a graduation celebration?" Harry asked, curious.

"We do have a graduation presentation. Don't you even consider missing it! I think it'll be during your summer holidays. You've never seen me on stage before, so you must go! You'll have no excuses."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Harry assured her.

"You'd better not. Let's stop talking about my boring life. How about you? Which school won that tournament? Did you have a nice end of term?" she asked curiously.

Harry's face darkened immediately. How could he possibly talk about what had happened at the end of his school term to her? He couldn't; he didn't want to. There would be too many things to hide and lie about; too many sad things to think about.

"It was okay," Harry said simply, but his face said something else.

"Harry, what happened?" she asked worriedly.

For a moment Harry considered the possibility of telling her everything – magic; Voldemort; his scar – He stopped in front of her grandmother's house, thinking silently, but in the end, he realised that she probably wouldn't believe him anyway.

"Nothing that you need to worry about," he said, but she didn't look convinced. "Don't worry; it's not a big deal… I just prefer to not talk about it."

"Er… right," she said slowly. "Would you... would you like to come in? I'm sure my grandmother has made some cookies. She always does when I visit. It's very mean of her, really… She seems to have a problem understanding that I'm supposed to be on a very strict diet!"

"Diet? You're joking, right? Why would you need to be on a diet?" Harry asked, shocked, observing her petit body while trying to think of where she could possibly think she needed to lose weight.

"Ballerinas are always on a diet. I swear its normal; don't worry! We're all weird like that." She grinned at him while she opened the door with her pair of spare keys.

* * *

Despite Voldemort's return, having Annabel as his girlfriend made his summer holiday much more enjoyable than he had ever expected it to be. Despite the fact that Annabel's summer holidays didn't begin until mid-July, she had made an effort to spend every single weekend break from her school in Little Whinging with him. Therefore, Harry would count the seconds until those moments when they would walk around the park or have meals together at the local café; he treasured these little moments that almost made him feel like he was an ordinary teenager boy. But he wasn't.

He was constantly reminded every time he considered the lack of news about Voldemort's movements and the constant feeling that Sirius and his friends were keeping him in the dark. Ron and Hermione tried sending him some mysterious hints that he couldn't really understand. These messages only made him feel even more frustrated than he already was.

Sirius, however, was much more comprehensive, but he still didn't give him advice; this only made him feel annoyed: _"but you need to stay out of trouble_;_""We'll be together soon." _Sirius's last letter, however, made him consider the possibility that he could be watched: _"Avoid showing public affection to people you care about."_ Could his godfather possibly know that he was constantly spending time with Annabel? He didn't tell any of his friends that they had gotten back together – after everyone had shown an immense concern about intercepted letters, he had decided that it was best to wait and tell them whenever they were face to face.

Another person who seemed to be making a strong effort force Harry and Annabel apart was Mrs Figg. For some strange reason he didn't understand, every time the old lady saw the young couple showing the slightest sign of affection in public, she would interrupt them and invite them for a cup of tea. It didn't take long for the couple to realise that, despite the good weather outside, staying inside together in Annabel's grandmother's house and watching a good movie accompanied by nice homemade popcorn was a much better option than being disturbed by inconvenient strangers all the time.

However, their peace didn't last long. With the beginning of the muggle summer holidays, Geoffrey decided that it would be a good idea to move to Little Whinging to spend some time with Annabel and her grandmother. In his own words, the boy was tired of being alone in that big house, but Annabel knew better.

"That prick! He's only here to annoy us. Why didn't he just go to his horrible friends' houses and leave me alone!?"

Apparently, she was right. Geoffrey was constantly following them, playing the role of a very irritating third wheel, making all sorts of inconvenient comments that ranged from Harry's lack of fashion to gossip about Annabel's Russian dates.

"Harry, did I tell you that my cousin Matthew told me about one guy… what's his name again? He told me Bel and he were making out in a cubicle in a men's restroom stall at a train station. He said that she gave him a blowjob. Has she done that for you yet? Is she any good?" Geoffrey smirked in a malicious way.

Harry had had to control himself with all of his will power to not punch the muggle boy in the face, or worse – to hit him with a curse. The worst of all this is that Harry couldn't help the need he had of confronting Annabel when they managed to be left alone, asking her if there was any truth behind Geoffrey's dark comments.

"Harry, are you crazy? Are you really considering believing anything that prat says?" she asked him, looking extremely offended. "Even if I had done everything he said, it wouldn't be your business anyway! Or have you forgotten that I wasn't your official girlfriend at the time? You need to stop being so jealous! We are never going to work out if you keep on being like this!"

She looked very disappointed. Harry knew that he was wrong, and it was time to apologise.

"Bel… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have listened to anything he said."

"Exactly, you shouldn't have. And you should also stop being so jealous. You know just how much I _hate_ _this_."

If Geoffrey had wanted to increase the tension between the young couple, Bel saying that to Harry had helped him succeed. After this episode, Annabel tried to avoid Harry's company and spend as much time as possible at her cousin Jess's house, whereas Harry was certainly a persona non-grata, as her mother was friends with Aunt Petunia.

However, Harry had made plans to change his luck with the muggle girl. He was going to await her return from the dance class she was attending at the local studio, holding a bunch of flowers he had stolen from the neighbourhood gardens. He only hoped that it would be enough for her smile at him again and completely forget about their previous misunderstanding.

Amazingly, Dudley's gang members weren't trying to provoke or tease Harry this year. He believed that Dudley had asked them to leave him alone, not because he had had a change of heart, but because the image of his aunt Marge being transformed in a balloon was probably still fresh on his mind.

However, that evening, it had been Harry who had been provocative towards Dudley. Harry was waiting on Annabel to return from her tap dance class – he knew the girl would take a shortcut that would require her to walk down a path near the swings where he was sitting. After seeing Dudley and his crew, Harry had started teasing his cousin, saying that 'Big D' needed four big boys to beat up a ten year old; somehow the insults turned around to Dudley saying things about Cedric, the other Hogwarts champion who had been murdered in front of Harry in the graveyard the night he encountered Voldemort.

"**Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to – Don't you point that thing at me!"**

Seeing his detestable cousin joking about that was enough to provoke Harry's anger to its limit. Harry, who had been extremely frustrated after being left in the dark by his friends and his godfather and getting caught in Geoffrey's malicious plans, ending up pulling out his wand and placing it near Dudley's healthy neck.

"**Don't ever talk about that again," Harry snarled. "D'you understand me?"**

"**Point that thing somewhere else!"**

"**I said, do you understand me?"**

"**Point it somewhere else!"**

"**DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"**

"Harry?" Annabel's voice whispered a couple of feet away from where Dudley and Harry were standing.

At the same time, a disgustingly dreadful familiar sound had invaded Harry's ears. The stars left the sky, and despite the fact that they were in beginning of August, the temperature dropped. It took a moment for Harry to realise what was happening, but after a while he had no doubt – somehow there were Dementors in the heart of Little Whinging.

"**C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!"**

"**Dudley, shut –"**

**WHAM. **

Dudley punched Harry, making him fall and his wand fly from his hand.

"**You moron, Dudley!" **

Dudley didn't wait any longer to start to run towards Annabel, who was standing completely still. She was shivering, and Harry's heart beat desperately when he realised that one of the Dementors was standing just a few meters from her.

"**BEL,**** DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUNTH SHUT!"** Harry screamed while he was blindly trying to find his wand on the ground with the help of his hands. Thankfully, his wand lit up when he cast a _lumos_ spell, and as soon as he had it secure in his hands, Harry stood up and looked to his cousin and girlfriend's direction. One of the Dementors was quickly leaning in to Dudley's face, and the other was centimetres away from Annabel's mouth– she was about to receive the kiss – he had no room for mistakes.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" – Harry shouted clearly, the image of him and Annabel together on his head. They were in a park accompanied by three children – _their children_. The familiar silver stag came out of the tip of his wand and trotted to the place the girl was lying.

* * *

As soon the Dementors disappeared from his sight, Harry ran to Annabel and Dudley. They were both lying unconscious on the ground. He kneeled and leaned down to make sure Annabel was breathing.

"Bel? Can you hear me?" Their lips were almost touching. He was sure that there were no more Dementors near them, but he was still shivering. What if he had performed the spell too late? Was she…?

"Harry?" she said, slowly opening her eyes.

"Thank God, you're still here!" Harry said, letting his wand fall to the ground and hugging her immediately.

"Don't let your wand fall, idiot boy!" a voice shrieked. **"What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!" **

Harry saw old Mrs. Figg standing right in front of him.

* * *

"I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!" the old batty lady complained to the wind while Harry was making an epic effort to support Dudley's weight. Mrs. Figg was doing her best to support Annabel, who looked like she was going to vomit at any moment, but she at least was still on her feet.

"Attacked by Dementors! Where is Fletcher? We need to inform Dumbledore immediately!"

"You know Dumbledore?"

"Of course I know Dumbledore! Who doesn't know Dumbledore?"

"POTTER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?" Geoffrey's shouted, full of rage.

"Calm down, Geoffrey! I've done nothing to her," Harry said, trying to not lose his temper.

"The girl is just not feeling well," Mrs. Figg answered the teenager boy. "Can you please help her back to Dorothy's place and tell her that a cup of hot chocolate is all your sister needs?"

Geoffrey was about to open his mouth to protest, but he changed his mind. Without exchanging any more words with Harry or Mrs. Figg, he took Annabel, who walked away with her without any further arguments. When they were out of sight, Harry, who couldn't hold his questions anymore, finally asked the one burning his tongue most:

"So, are you a witch then?"

* * *

Harry had barely left his room in the days after the incident with the Dementors. Despite the fact that he didn't want to impose his presence upon the Durselys' – which could possible lead to an angry Harry performing even more accidental magic, he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened.

Why hadn't Sirius nor his friends answered his letters? Why did they carry on ignoring him after everything that had just happened? What if he was expelled? What would he do with his life?

He had considered leaving the house to pay a visit to Annabel, but he swept that thought from his mind as quickly as it had appeared. The girl would probably still be mad at him, and he was in no mood to deal with an angry Bel. Would she remember anything about the incident? Would the Ministry have sent Obliviators so she wouldn't remember anything that had happened that evening?

It was almost nightfall, and he was looking at the ceiling, thinking about these and other questions, when his room door opened, revealing the girl who had occupied most of his thoughts during these last few days. Her long, curly hair had been let down, hanging just above her waist.

"Bel..." Harry raised one eyebrow, surprised.

She silenced him, placing her finger on her lips and shut the door without making any noise. Once she was inside, she sat down on the edge of Harry's bed.

"Your uncle and your aunt don't know I'm here. I asked them to let me see you, but they refused to let me in," she said in a very low voice.

"How did you manage to get in?" Harry asked curiously while he tried to cover the moving picture of his parents that was on his bedside table.

"Dudley. I've discovered some dirty things about him, so it wasn't hard to convince him to let me in."

"What did you find out about him?" Harry leaned forward, really eager to hear this.

"Well… that's the thing. I've promised him that I'd never tell you his little secret. Neither would I tell it to his friends nor his parents."

"You really have me curious now." Harry wondered what could be so bad for Dudley to try to hide like that. "I've really missed you," Harry said, touching her hair and kissing her forehead. He really loved the feel of it in his hands…and that smell! He could spend hours touching her hair if she'd let him.

"I've really missed you too," she said, laying her head on his chest. They spent a few moments like this, enjoying each other in complete silence until she raised her head and looked into his eyes. "Harry, what happened that day in the park?"

"Do you remember?" Harry asked, surprised. Did this mean that she hadn't being obliviated?

"Do I remember what?"

"What do you remember from that day in the park?" Harry asked, a bit uncertain of just how much he was supposed to reveal.

"Well… I remember that everything went dark and cold… and then… suddenly, everything seemed so depressing. I felt like there was nothing worth living for…"

She remembered. Harry hugged her tight. He was relieved to hear that at least the Ministry hadn't altered her memory.

"And then… I remembered things that…I didn't even know I remembered." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I… I.. s-saw… I remembered h-horrible things…"

"Oh Bel! I'm so sorry you had to go through that." Harry couldn't help feeling guilty. After all, it was because of him that those Dementors had been sent to Little Whinging.

"I... f-felt so bad!" she said, drying an insistent tear with her sleeve.

"Shhh… everything is fine now. Stop thinking about it." He placed her on his lap and kissed her forehead once again. Part of him wanted to ask her which memories came to mind when she was exposed to the Dementors, but the other part knew that it making her think about it would only make her feel worse.

"Harry, I think that I deserve to know what really happened that day," she said very seriously. "I have some memories, but they are very blurry and confusing."

Harry covered his face with his hands in despair. What was he going to do now? More than ever he wanted, no, he needed, to tell her everything. However, he couldn't afford being in even more trouble with the Ministry right now. She was right: she deserved to know, and he was going to find a way to be able to tell her everything, but until then…

"Bel, I'm so sorry!" He could barely look her in the eyes. "There are things about me that I can't tell you, and that's all I can say. I promise that one day I will tell you everything, but until then, I can only beg for you to trust me."

She sighed before answering him. "I was sort of expecting that. Well, at least now I know that I'm not as crazy as Matthew always claims I am. You definitely _are _hiding things from me."

Before he could say anything else, the noise of footsteps approaching his room made Harry stand up immediately and hide Annabel behind his wardrobe door. He sat in his chair and pretended to read one of his school books.

"**We're going out," Uncle Vernon said after putting his head inside Harry's room.**

"**Sorry?"**

"**We – that is to say, your aunt, Dudley and I – are going out."**

"**Fine."**

"**You are not to leave your bedroom while we are away."**

"**OK."**

"**You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions."**

"**Right."**

"**You are not to steal food from the fridge."**

"**OK."**

"**I'm going to lock your door."**

"**You do that."**

Vernon gave Harry a suspicious look before leaving the room and locking Harry and Annabel inside. Once he was far enough away, she asked, "Could he be more horrible?" She gave Harry a hug.

"Welcome to my life. I've been living with these disgusting relatives since I was a toddler." He sighed.

"Oh, Harry!" she said, giving him a small peck on his lips that soon turned into a passionate kiss.

"You know what?" she asked, giving him a mischievous grin.

"What?"

"We're home alone, babe."

Harry smiled back at her and quickly closed the curtains. He grabbed her hips, pulled her near, and claimed her mouth in a deep, desperate kiss; she broke the kiss, moving down, sucking and biting his neck in such a needy way that Harry couldn't resist a moan escaping from his lips. While he explored her body with his hands, he wondered if she had noticed the growing bulge in his pants. Not long they began, Annabel took his hand and guided him to his bed, and she slowly lay down and tried to pull his body on top of her.

"Bel, I don't think this is a good idea…"

"Shhhh… I want it." She took a square packet from her pocket and gave it to him. It took Harry a moment to recognize the condom for what it was.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked gently.

She nodded with her head. He bloody wanted her too. He wanted more than he had ever wanted anything on his life – he craved her body more than a fish needed water. She sat down on his bed and easily managed to take off his t-shirt, which let her freely explore and kiss his chest in a way she had never done so before. Harry could barely believe what was happening. He had the girl of his dreams in his bed.

"I love you, Annabel Morelli. Never doubt that," he said, placing a very soft kiss on her lips.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment when he started kissing her neck.

"I love you too, Harry. I think I've loved you since the moment we met at my birthday party…"

A large grin crossed his lips after he heard her words. How lucky could they both be to share such strong feelings for each other? If this wasn't true love, he didn't know what else could it possibly be.

He moved his hands to her chest and started unbuttoning her blouse. Immediately, Harry felt his magic screaming in his body - he needed to touch her breasts. Harry wanted to go slower, but he knew that a burst of accidental magic could expel itself if he did not touch her chest at that moment. Without stopping to think, he ripped her blouse off with his hands, making some of her buttons fly. She raised one eyebrow in surprise, but she was happy when their mouths met in a deep, hungry kiss.

However, the noise of his room door colliding with the wall made both of them jump. Instinctively, Harry grabbed his wand and placed his other hand on her mouth to make sure she would stay quiet. He stood up to listen to the loud voices that were coming from his relatives' lounge. The only clear phrase he managed to understand was a familiar, growling male voice that said, "That muggle girl is here."

"Stay here," Harry whispered to Annabel, his heart beating fast.

He swiftly went down the stairs holding his wand securely in his hands

"**Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out" **


End file.
